Too Much
by rexlover180
Summary: Arthur Kirkland has just been told that he is going to be the newest Queen of Spades. With no other royals in place, he has to do everything on his own until the new King and Jack are found. And it's a tad overwhelming. He has to meet all the other royals from the other suits, sign documents, and run Spades alone. Maybe a handly servant can cheer him up. USUK Cardverse!AU
1. Born for Royalty

Arthur was frozen in place. This couldn't be happening. This was insane… He couldn't be…

"Arthur!" his mother waved a hand in front of Arthur's face, snapping him out of it.

"No," Arthur muttered, and fell back, against the desk. "I-It couldn't have been me…Wh-what about Scott? Isn't he the oldest?!"

"Sweetie, calm down," his mother stroked his shoulder and Arthur was breathing heavily.

"But…there's no one else," Arthur muttered. "Not a single other royal. I-I'll be all alone."

"And I'm sure you can handle it, Arthur," his mother smiled softly.

"I can't," Arthur shook his head. "Oh, good Lord, I'm going to be sick…" Arthur started pacing, stroking his hand through his hair.

"If the clocks chose you, then I'm positive that you're perfect for the job," his mother said helpfully.

"Just like Uncle was, right?" Arthur snapped. He felt a little bad talking down on his uncle only a few days after his death, but it was agreed by everyone in the kingdom that he was the worst King in the history of Deck. "It's not right, Mum. Kirklands have always been a bad choice."

"You're uncle has done many great things for Deck," his mother reminded kindly. "You'll realize that when you're Queen of Spades."

"I can't be a bloody Queen!" Arthur snapped, slightly regretting cursing in front of his mother. "That's supposed to be a female's place."

"The clock is never picky," his mother sighed. "It's been mere coincidence that it hasn't chosen a man for Queen in so long. Queen Kiku is a male."

"That's in Hearts," Arthur sighed. "They play by different rules than Spades. What about the next King, then? Will that be a woman, then? I can't wed someone I don't know like the King and Queen are supposed to!"

"You're overthinking things," his mother said kindly. "The clocks chose people who fall in love, they have never failed in that. Whoever is your King will be your soul mate. You must relax. Your uncle had the same issue."

Arthur shook his head, rubbing it slightly. He couldn't talk about this anymore. So he just stormed out of the study they were in and barged down the hallway. He wasn't even looking where he was going, until he rammed right into someone he didn't see. Arthur started paying attention right when everything in that person's hands came crashing to the ground. He saw a silver platter with a horribly shattered tea set, the tea spilled all over the navy blue and black rug.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," Arthur muttered, a hand on his forehead, as he watched the servant stoop down to pick up all the shattered pieces of the tea set onto the platter.

"It's fine, dude," the servant boy laughed. As Arthur stood there, watching him pick everything up, he noticed that he looked rather familiar. His sand-colored hair with that one bit that stuck straight up looked very familiar.

"I-I should have looked where I was going," Arthur muttered. Maybe this kid would be a nice distraction from his life. He stooped down to help him pick up the pieces.

"Uh…Arthur, right?" the servant asked. Arthur looked up at him, staring into his deep, sapphire eyes, and admiring his tanned skin. And Arthur just noticed that this was the first time he looked at a servant in the face.

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "And your name?"

"Alfred F. Jones," the man flashed an obnoxiously bright smile.

"Pleasure to meet you," Arthur smiled slightly. He looked back down at the ground, picking up the last few pieces. Arthur moved his hands to help Alfred pick the tray up, and their hands made contact. At that split second, Arthur got this weird vision. He couldn't quite understand it and it only lasted a second, but he was pretty sure he was kissing someone.

"You gonna stand up?" Alfred asked. Arthur looked around and noticed that Alfred had already stood up.

"Right," Arthur sighed and stood up quickly.

"So, I heard about that whole clock thing," Alfred smiled. So much for a distraction.

"Figures the news would spread fast," Arthur muttered.

"Hey, you got my support," Alfred shrugged. "You'll make a great King, I'm sure."

"King…" Arthur muttered. Yeah, that would be a good cover for now. Everyone could just think that he was King until the proper one was found. He was doing all the work himself, anyway. "Yes, I'm still trying to come to grips with it myself."

"I'm sure you'll do really good," Alfred smiled. "Just like your late uncle, right?"

"Sure," Arthur sighed. He didn't see what other people saw in his uncle, he was nothing great. "If you excuse me, I have to go do something."

"Sure," Alfred nodded. Then he gestured to the tray. "So do I."

"Very sorry about that, by the way," Arthur muttered quickly.

"Hey, I won't have to clean it," Alfred laughed, guesturing to the soaked rug. "And since it's not my fault, I won't get kicked out. So thanks."

"I don't quite follow your logic, but okay," Arthur chuckled and the two parted ways. Arthur sighed. He seemed like such a good lad…It was a shame he would probably never meet him again.

* * *

Arthur sat at the desk in his room, staring at the pile of papers laid on his desk. It seemed like they would reach his head if they were any taller.

"You're kidding me, right?" Arthur stared at it.

"This is why I'm happy I don't have this job," Scott snorted, taking a drag from the cigarette in his hand.

"Please don't smoke in here," Arthur waved the smoke away from his face and coughed.

"So, you have to do all of this?" Dillan blinked at the stack.

"By tomorrow," Arthur sighed, leaning back in the chair.

"Well, you're screwed," Callan laughed and Scott soon joined him.

"This is hopeless," Arthur muttered.

"It's only been a week since the last royals died," Dillan said. "How could there already be this much?"

"Probably because there's no one else," Arthur snapped. "This is the bloody paperwork for the three hardest working people in Spades and I have to do it alone."

"Aren't Jacks usually picked out first?" Callan asked through his laughing.

"Not this time," Arthur massaged his temples. "God, I hope he's found soon. I don't want to do this alone."

"You sure it's not going to be a woman?" Scott chuckled. "You being a Queen is the most hilarious thing I've heard in my life! And now you think you can pass off being King until the newest one is found!"

"Shut up," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Now, if you excuse me, I actually have work to do."

Eventually, his three brothers did file out of his room, leaving it silent. Arthur started on the papers. When he read through them, he noticed that a lot of them meant pretty much the same thing. There were a lot of bills to sign that the royal council came up with, which Arthur signed most of. And then there were permits for citizens building new homes. At about the time when he was reading things about his own coronation, he was getting drowsy. And, soon, he was face-first on his desk, sleeping.

He only woke up when he felt something poking his arm. Arthur slowly opened his eyes, revealing that he was, in fact, sleeping on his desk.

"Oh, bloody hell," Arthur muttered, sitting upright. He looked at the stack of papers he still had to do and groaned.

"You okay?" the servant who woke him up asked in a very familiar voice.

"Fine," Arthur shook his head.

"I was told it would be smart to bring you some tea," the servant said politely, placing a steaming cup of tea with a delightful aroma down in front of him.

"Thank you," Arthur nodded politely. Finally, he looked up at the servant, and found that young lad from earlier. "Um, sorry, but, what was your name again?"

"Alfred," the young man smiled happily.

"Right, thank you," Arthur smiled. It was strange, this was the first person who made him smile for real in years. Most of the time, he would just fake it to make his mother happy. But this Alfred made him genuinely smile. "Have I seen you somewhere before? Other than in the hallway yesterday?"

"So you really don't pay attention to us," Alfred rubbed the back of his head, grinning slightly. "For about a year, I've been the one who comes in here with all the random junk that you need. Guess you wouldn't know that, since you never look up at us."

"My apologies," Arthur muttered, staring at his tea. So Alfred was the one who brought in his tea every morning, blankets and firewood in the winter, and invitations to certain events…

"Oh, I also had something else to give you," Alfred dug into his back pocket and pulled out a letter. "Here."

"Thanks," Arthur nodded, taking the letter. He opened it up quickly and noticed that Alfred picked up one of the documents Arthur already signed. Arthur ignored it for now and read through the letter. It was an invitation. From Francis, King of Diamonds. Arthur rolled his eyes. Figured he would be throwing a party to celebrate Arthur becoming Royalty. Naturally, since Alfred gave him the idea of pretending to be King, news was spreading everywhere that Arthur was to be crowned King soon. Arthur just prayed that the coronation would happen after the new King was found. Or this would be very hard to explain.

"Do you even read these when you sign them?" Alfred asked randomly.

"What?" Arthur put the letter down, looking up at Alfred, who was staring at the document.

"This is a tax on stamps for no reason," Alfred handed the thing to him. "Sounds pretty stupid, if you ask me."

"Well, I was tired," Arthur shook his head and re-read the document. It actually was a tax on stamps… Arthur sighed and tore the thing in half. "I don't even know what the bloody hell I'm doing." Arthur rested his head on the table again, wrapping his arms around it.

"Hey, you're doing a lot better than I would be," Alfred said helpfully and a hand patted Arthur's back. Normally, Arthur would have told him off for touching him, a servant shouldn't touch royalty, but he wasn't in the mood. He was far too tired. Arthur sat up and picked up the clock that had chosen him, which was now keeping perfect time. It was nearly midnight and Arthur had yet to finish his work.

"I should get back to work," Arthur sighed. He picked up the cup of tea and took a sip before he took up a new document and tried to read through it.

"Good luck," Alfred chimed and Arthur heard the door close. Arthur grinned slightly and set the document down. How could he have not noticed Alfred before, he wondered. He was such a kind lad. And he apparently loved talking, how did he ignore him for so long?

Arthur took up a piece of parchment and started writing a letter back to Francis about that party. Arthur figured that it would be best to have it in Spades, because leaving would mean that he would get more work piled up for him.

After the letter was finished, Arthur spared a glance back at the papers, taking a deep sigh. They would wait a little bit, he decided as he took another sip of the tea. He couldn't help but wonder if Alfred made it himself or if someone in the kitchen staff did. He had never thought about the servants before…

Maybe he should pay attention to them a little more. If they were all as nice as Alfred, it might give Arthur a chance to improve on his social skills.

Arthur finished the tea and went over to his bed, easily falling asleep with a big pile of work lying on his desk right next to him.

He had a dream of fairies and unicorns.

* * *

**Okay, so this is a story I came up with pretty recently. It's my first Cardverse!AU, and for some reason I couldn't stop myself from writing it. I said I was going to take a break from FanFiction, but apparently it's physically impossible for me to do that. It sucks... But, on the bright side, it means you get this. ****As this is the first chapter, not much is explained, but most does get explained later. **

**I've noticed from reading all of the other Cardverse fics that everyone has Yao doing everything alone until Arthur and Alfred come along, and so I thought about what it would be like to have someone else picked first. So I chose Arthur, since he's more capable than Alfred. I'm also going with the idea of the Royals being picked by magic clocks. Just because that makes more sense than anything else and it helps the story later on.**

**Also, if anyone notices a trend I'll be putting in each chapter by the end of the story, I'll give ya a special one-shot!**

**Anyway, now that that horrible speech is over, tell me what you think!**

**I do not and never will own Hetalia...sadly.**


	2. Visit From A King

"Arthur!" a small voice broke into Arthur's dreams. "Arthur, wake up!"

Arthur blearily opened his eyes and saw the familiar face of Ella, one of the fairies that lived in the castle. She had dark brown hair that cascaded down to the middle of her back, and a bright pink oufit with pink wings to match. She was one of Arthur's best (and only) friends.

"You slept in," Ella giggled.

"Thank you," Arthur nodded towards her and sat upright. The fairies always woke him up if he slept in past normal.

"You didn't finish your paperwork last night," Ella tsked, flying over to the table.

"I know that," Arthur rolled his eyes. "I did that on purpose."

"That Alfred guy is nice, isn't he?" Ella smiled dreamily, lying on her back on the pile of finished work. "I follow him around a lot when you aren't here. You know he has a twin?"

Arthur stopped listening part of the way through when he noticed that Ella was lying down next to a fresh cup of tea, his previous one gone without a trace. Arthur let a smile ghost across his lips as he sat down at his desk.

"So, where were you guys for the past couple days?" Arthur asked and started on the papers again, sipping the tea. He let himself believe that it was Alfred making the tea. "I really needed you when the clocks chose me."

"No way! You're the next Royal?" Ella sat upright. "Laila owes me then! Sweet!"

"Where were you?" Arthur deadpanned, signing the paper in his hands and taking a sip of the tea.

"Important fairy meeting," Ella sighed. "Like usual, it was about the lack of belief and blah, blah, blah…"

"Sounds pretty important," Arthur chuckled.

"Yeah, but I wanna hear about you!" Ella flew next to Arthur's face. "So, tell me, which Royal are you? Judging by all the work, you're probably Jack, right? Please tell me you're Jack, you're totally smart enough."

"No," Arthur shook his head.

"King?" Ella frowned slightly and landed on the table. "I dunno, you're not really the kingly type. I guess if you tried you could muster up some authority…"

"Hey," Arthur glared at her slightly and signed another paper. He sipped some more tea.

"Well, is it King?" Ella tilted her head.

Arthur sighed, taking a long sip of tea. "No," he muttered quietly.

"No way," her wings fluttered excitedly and she grew a large smile. "You're totally Queen! That's awesome! I always heard rumors that the Queen of Spades can do magic and stuff, but most of them just ignore me. I mean, I know they can see me because they at least acknowledge that I'm there, but they never talk to me! But you do! That's so cool!"

"Has anyone told you that you talk too much?" Arthur chuckled slightly, signing off another paper.

"Well, I don't know," Ella sighed, not really meaning her sadness. "Hardly anyone in the world can see or hear me anymore…"

"So I have to hear everything you want to say," Arthur shook his head and tossed the next piece of paper over his shoulder.

"What'd that one say?" Ella asked curiously.

"Every class wearing a number to match," Arthur rolled his eyes. "I want to know where they come up with these stupid ideas."

"It's just 'cause they don't have an awesome fairy like me to look after them," Ella winked, fluttering up to the pile of work yet to do, which was now growing smaller. "Or a hot servant to serve them tea."

"What?" Arthur nearly choked as he was drinking tea while she said that.

"You heard me," Ella winked. "Dude, Alfred's totally cute."

"I'm not interested in men," Arthur shook his head. "That's just wrong."

"Just because the Bible says something, it doesn't mean you have to follow it," Ella let out an exasperated sigh.

"I don't like guys," Arthur stared at her. "End of story."

"Whatever," Ella rolled her eyes. "Just don't yell at me when your King winds up being a guy."

"Since you're a fairy, doesn't that mean that you would know who the clocks will choose next?" Arthur asked.

"It doesn't work that way, sorry," Ella shrugged. "The clocks have got their own magic, we don't supply it. If it was like you, with your magic, then we would know, but…"

"Wait, does that mean you know when I cast a spell?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at the fairy.

"Every time," Ella smiled brightly.

"Lovely," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, now that you know about that, I gotta say it was hilarious when you tried turning Francis into a frog!" Ella burst out laughing. "You should try things like that more often!"

"That was a while ago," Arthur sighed, signing a paper. "And it backfired, hitting me instead."

"I helped you turn back," Ella smiled.

"Not the best way to meet your best friend," Arthur chuckled.

"It's good to see you in a good mood again," Ella flew up to his shoulder and leaned against his cheek.

"What do you mean by that?" Arthur signed another paper.

"You've been in a bad mood for years, grumpy pants," Ella poked his cheek and Arthur rolled his eyes. "But, now, you're all smiles and laughs. I've been trying to get this Arthur back for years. I wanna know what happened in the time I was gone."

"Nothing other than my getting chosen," Arthur sighed and tossed a paper behind himself.

"Well, you met Alfred," Ella teased.

"Shut it," Arthur rolled his eyes. "He's good at conversation, is all."

"Good at conversation," Ella scoffed. "I'm surprised you haven't corrected his sentences for grammar mistakes."

"I figured I would try that when we started talking more," Arthur sighed, signing yet another paper. The stack just seemed like it would never end…

That was when Arthur heard a knock at the door. And then a very familiar, annoying voice coming from the other side saying, "Mon cher, are you talking to your fairies again?"

"Oh, please no," Arthur sunk in his chair as Francis, King of Diamonds, entered his room. Ella flew away from Arthur, knowing full well what came next. Arthur didn't even try to fight as he was picked up from the chair and brought into a hug by the man.

"I have missed you," Francis smiled down at him. Why did he have to be taller than Arthur? "It has been a while, mon cher."

"What are you doing here, Francis?" Arthur sighed. "Didn't you just send me an invitation to that party of yours?"

"Yes, but I just had to see my favorite, petit Spadien," Francis messed up his hair. "I am very proud of you for becoming King, too!"

"Right," Arthur sighed as he shooed Francis' hand way from. These two had known each other since they were little. It was when his uncle was throwing a massive party, inviting the royals from all of the suits. Francis wasn't crowned King yet, and he met Arthur when his mother forced him to start dancing with others. Arthur thought Francis was a girl, which was the only reason Arthur asked him to dance. He knew much better than that now. "Since you're here already, I was going to send you a letter that a party like that would best be spent here. I have far too much work to do by myself and the other royals have yet to be found, meaning I'm a prime target for Clubs."

"That makes sense," Francis nodded, but Arthur could tell by looking at his eyes that he didn't really care. A party was a party, no matter where it was. "As long as you let me cater."

"It's still your party," Arthur shook his head and turned back to the desk, sitting down again. He took one last sip of the tea and set the cup aside. That was when he saw Ella make her way towards Francis and try punching his nose, which he just swatted her away like a bug. But Ella came back, hitting his ear. It was easy to say that Ella despised Francis.

"Do you have bugs in here?" Francis asked. "Every time I come in here, I seem to be attacked by bugs."

"They don't bother me," Arthur muttered and signed a document.

"So, you have to do all of that on your own until they find the Queen and Jack?" Francis asked curiously, eyeing the papers.

"Pretty much," Arthur sighed.

"I had no idea it was so hard on your own," Francis muttered. "I was the last Royal of Diamonds to be found, so my workload was rather light."

"That's wonderful for you, frog," Arthur sighed and tossed a paper behind his back.

"Je suis désolé," Francis sighed. He swatted again at Ella as she tried pulling his hair. "I guess now we will be talking a lot more now, right?"

"Yeah," Arthur said simply. He knew as well as everyone else that Kings mainly talked to Kings, Queens mainly talked to Queens, and Jacks mainly talked to Jacks. This was all becoming too much for him, though. He wished he could go back to sleep and this would all have been a dream. He signed yet another piece of paper.

"Hey, Arthur," Alfred's voice called out through the hall and both of the blondes in the room turned towards him, who was standing in the doorway. "Guess I was a little too late. I was coming to tell ya that you had a guest."

"Well, that's a bit obvious now," Arthur sighed, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

"So, who is this?" Francis asked, leaning on the table with one hand.

"This is Alfred," Arthur sighed, reading another piece of paper. "Alfred, this is Francis…the King of Diamonds."

"Whoa, so you're, like, friends with the King of Diamonds?" Alfred's eyes widened.

"You shouldn't use the world like as a comma," Arthur blurted out before he could stop himself. He heard Ella burst out laughing. "We've been friends for a while."

"Before I was the fabulous King of Diamonds," Francis flipped his hair over his shoulder.

"Right," Arthur snorted. "Fabulous is the word."

"So, what are you, Alfred?" Francis asked and Arthur glanced up at him. "Lord, Knight, Duke?"

"Nah, man," Alfred shook his head. "I'm from Five. Me and my brother work here to help Mom and Dad with their money problems."

"It's my brother and I," Arthur corrected and then sighed, leaning his head back.

"Oh, so you're a servant, non?" Francis asked.

"Yeah," Alfred said proudly.

"You shouldn't exactly be proud of being poor," Arthur stated, turning his attention back to the pile of papers.

"You signing any more stupid taxes?" Alfred asked and Arthur finally resisted the urge to correct him.

"No," Arthur stated, signing another paper. "And I saved you from having to wear a five on your chest."

"Thanks, bro," Alfred laughed and Arthur smiled slightly. "Well, I was just here to tell you about Francis, so I can go."

The door closed and then Francis started snickering. Arthur looked up at him with a concerned look.

"You two are trés adorable," Francis sighed dreamily and Ella did the same, lying on Arthur's shoulder. He fought the urge to shove her off.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Arthur shook his head and tossed a paper behind his back.

"Oh, I can tell when l'amour is in the air, and it definitely is for you two," Francis said happily.

"I'm going to pretend that I don't understand your accent," Arthur sighed, "and ask you if you're bloody insane."

"You like that servant," Francis leaned towards Arthur.

"You smell like wine and cheese," Arthur commented, waving him away.

"Admit you love Alfred," Francis laughed.

"I do not," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You do," Ella giggled in his ear and Arthur huffed. He tossed another paper behind himself.

"I honestly don't think I can get any work done with you around," Arthur sighed. "I was moving so much faster before you came in."

"Are you kicking me out?" Francis pouted.

"I will see you during that party of yours, Francis," Arthur nodded towards the door.

"And I will see you there, too," Francis winked and made his way out the door.

"I still don't like him," Ella muttered.

"Nor do I," Arthur sighed. "But, he is my only friend."

* * *

**And here is chapter 2! I may not have gotten a lot of reivews last chapter, but I got a ton of alerts, so I think that's a good thing. Fo anyone who hasn't read my stories before, I usually update once a day, unless I'm out camping or something. So, I will be doing that here for this story. Anyway, we just got inroduced to Ella, the fairy OC that I created to basically be Arthur's concience. She's basically Arthur's thoughts without his pride sensor. Which has gotta be fun, eh?**

**Anyway, please review! It really means a lot to know what you guys think!**

**I don't own Hetalia, nor will I ever.**


	3. Party Fit For a King

"Arthur," something was shaking Arthur's shoulder. Arthur glanced up, finding himself fallen asleep at the desk once again. And Alfred was waking him up. Again.

"Sorry," Arthur muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He could see Ella laying on top of Alfred's head, sighing dreamily.

"Dude, this is, like, the sixth time I've had to wake you up," Alfred laughed.

"Then this must be the tenth time I've told you not to punctuate with the word like," Arthur sighed and Ella snickered.

"And you only had one paper left this time," Alfred said, reaching over to pick up the paper.

"God, I don't even feel like reading that one," Arthur leaned back in his chair. "I'm exhausted."

"Well, I read through this one for you," Alfred smiled. "Tell you if it's worth your time."

"Whatever floats your boat," Arthur sighed.

"Nope," Alfred said after a while, tossing it with the growing pile of papers laying behind Arthur's desk.

"I guess I will just take your word for it, then," Arthur shook his head, chuckling slightly.

"Dude, have you even been outside since you've been found by the clocks?" Alfred laughed.

"Don't call me dude," Arthur stated. "And, no, I don't think I've even left my room. If I have, I can't remember it."

"You should get out more," Alfred leaned against his desk. "Go to parties and stuff."

"Oh, shit," Arthur stood up.

"What?" Alfred looked at him, lost.

"Francis' party," Arthur muttered. "I forgot…" Arthur glanced down at his clock. The party had already started, about a half an hour ago. "The damn frog's never going to let me live this down…"

"Ah, shit, I have to work that party…" Alfred muttered. "Gotta go," he called back as he left the room, slamming the door shut.

"I have to get ready," Arthur muttered and ran to his dresser. Now that he thought about it, because of his work he hadn't quite changed his clothes. He had bathed, of course, but other than that…

"So, you're actually going to go?" Ella asked as Arthur pulled out some of his best clothes.

"Well, I promised him," Arthur muttered as he started taking off his shirt.

"Then I'll go put on my best dress," Ella said excitedly. "There's bound to be some sexy fairies there."

"Whatever you say…" Arthur rolled his eyes as he started putting on his white undershirt.

Eventually, when Arthur did make it to the ballroom of the castle, his entrance didn't draw any attention to himself, which was good. He messed with his outfit, fixing wrinkles that weren't really there. As a new royal of Spades, he was given a few new outfits and this was one of them.

It had a light purple vest over the white undershirt, green trousers, and a long, purple coat. And then there was the matching top hat that was oddly small, so it rested precariously on the right side of his head. He felt idiotic wearing something like it, but it was the color of Spades, so he really had no choice in it.

"There you are, mon cher," Francis' voice said behind him and Arthur felt hands creep at his sides. He stiffened for a bit, realized it was Francis, and quickly shoved the hands away, turning around. "I have been waiting for you."

"Of course you would be," Arthur rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, the party is for you," Francis winked. "I have some people to introduce you to."

Before Arthur could even reply, Francis grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him towards the middle of the hall. Normally, there would be dancing going on in this area, but it was too early in the night to start that yet. It was then that Arthur focused on Francis' outfit. Naturally, it was overly fancy, and the color of Diamonds; orange.

They were coming up to a group of people, all in highly decorated outfits. He did notice, however, that they were all wearing the designated colors of each suit. There was a cute young lady wearing orange, same as Francis, who was being over protected by a young man wearing orange. There was a creepy man in green standing next to a beautiful woman in a green dress, who was standing awfully close to another man dressed in green. And then there were three men in red, one of them clinging to a very tall man, and the last just standing there awkwardly. Just about as awkward as Arthur was feeling seeing all these new faces.

"My fellow royalty," Francis said loudly enough so that the whole group turned towards them, "may I introduce the new King of Spades, Arthur Kirkland."

"H-Hello," Arthur barely managed out. All of those eyes on him made him feel uncomfortable. And he could see Ella flying away at the sight of a handsome looking fairy in the corner. Just great. Now he was all alone.

"Veee~ It's so nice to meet you~!" the man in red who was clinging to the tall one said excitedly. "I'm Jack Feliciano! But you can call me Feli, okay~?"

"I am Ludwig," the taller man in red stated calmly, but he was extremely serious. "King of Hearts."

"And I am Kiku, Queen of Hearts," the quiet one in red muttered. Arthur gave him a longer look, so there really were male Queens after all…

"Hello, my name is Lilli," the girl in orange said kindly. "Queen of Diamonds."

"And I am her brother, Jack of Diamonds," the protective one in orange said.

"I am Roderich, Jack of Clubs," the not creepy man in green said simply.

"My name is Elizaveta," the girl in green said happily. "I am Queen of Clubs, it's very nice to meet you!"

"And I am Ivan," the creepy man in green smiled. "King of Clubs."

Arthur blinked a few times, trying to make sure he remembered all of the names. He had heard them all before, sure, but matching them to a face was a little difficult. And then there was the King of Clubs, whose smile sent a shiver down Arthur's spine. There was something about this man that Arthur didn't trust.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Arthur nodded towards them, recovering slightly from the initial shock.

"Mon cher has been a friend of mine for ages," Francis drawled, looping an arm around Arthur's shoulders.

"Yes," Arthur replied. "Ever since I asked you to dance because I thought you were a girl." At that, the good natured people in the group started laughing, but Francis glared slightly at him.

"And yet I was not the one dancing like a girl," Francis winked and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"If you excuse me," Arthur moved out from under Francis' arm. "I should probably talk with some of the other guests."

"Fine, fine," Francis sighed.

"Nice meeting you!" Feliciano and Elizaveta chimed together. Arthur nodded politely back at them and then turned back to the party. It seemed as though all the guests were all staring at the large group of Royals, and even at Arthur as he trudged to the outskirts.

Before long, though, another arm slung itself over his shoulders and led him towards a corner of the room, to the outskirts of the party. Arthur glanced at the mystery man, expecting Francis again, but was instead met with red eyes that nearly made him jump out of his skin.

"Wh-who are you?" Arthur stuttered as they stopped in the corner.

"Oh, great, you can see me," the man with red eyes smiled and Arthur noticed that he had bright white hair. "Knew I made the right choice, man! No way you could've been King!"

"What?" Arthur asked, taken aback. "Y-You know about-"

"I only know because I'm supposed to," the man rolled his eyes. "The name's Gilbert, I'm a Joker."

"A-A Joker?" Arthur felt his jaw drop. "I thought you were myths."

"We're only myths because a few people can see us," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm just so awesome, no one can even process that I'm around them. But that's not the point. I needed to talk with you about something."

"Wh-what?" Arthur asked.

"As a Joker, I know anything and everything," Gilbert stated. "Now, with that, I know how to change what may happen if it's what's best for Deck, got that? So I'm going to help you here. And, trust me, this will make for a better Deck."

"But…how can I trust that you're a Joker?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"Other than the fact that you can see me and no one can?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. Then he let out a deep sigh. "Just don't draw attention to yourself."

"What do you m-" Arthur was cut off when Gilbert disappeared from his line of sight in a puff of smoke. Arthur felt someone poke his shoulder. He turned around and saw Gilbert hanging upside-down in mid-air. He was even sporting black devil horns and a tail.

"Now will you listen to me?" Gilbert shifted so that he was lying on his stomach, still in mid-air, and crossed his ankles behind himself.

"Yeah, sure," Arthur muttered.

"You can trust two people in this world," Gilbert said, putting on a serious face. "Your King and Jack, understand? You can't trust anything anyone else says, got it?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Arthur asked, completely clueless.

"It means don't even listen to anyone else," Gilbert stated. "Whatever anyone tells you, don't listen, got it? And especially avoid that dick, Ivan."

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"I can't tell you why," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Just trust me. Don't even talk to him, he knows how to twist your words. And I'm doing this all for the sake of Deck, okay? Not just you. Even though you're pretty damn important."

"I am?" Arthur asked.

"Gotta go," Gilbert righted himself on his feet and stared at the dance floor, which apparently they had recently started dancing. He could see a little kid messing with people, but no one was looking at him. "My partner's making mayhem."

"Wait, he's a Joker, too?" Arthur looked harder at the boy.

"You bet," Gilbert winked. "Remember what I said and don't forget it until you die, got it?"

"Right," Arthur nodded and Gilbert ran off into the dance floor, picking up the little kid, and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Arthur started walking back into the party, but he was quickly met with violet eyes, making him emit a squeak and step back slightly.

"I-Ivan?" Arthur muttered, holding onto his chest to make sure his heart was beating right.

"Hello, comrade," Ivan smiled.

"H-Hello," Arthur said cautiously.

"I could not help but notice you talking to thin air," Ivan tilted his head and Arthur felt his face heat up. It was already embarrassing when Francis walked in on him talking to his fairies, but now Ivan knew? "Should I be worried?"

"Not at all," Arthur smiled calmly. "Just talking to myself to calm my nerves. This is my first party as King, after all."

"I see," Ivan's smile didn't falter. They stared at each other awkwardly for a while, until a woman with platinum blonde hair came up to him and latched onto his arm. Immediately, Ivan flinched and Arthur smile grew a little wider.

"Dance with me, brother!" the woman begged and Ivan's expression quickly exchanged to terror as he tried to pull away from the woman.

"Family problems?" Arthur asked, smiling. And he even laughed as he watched Ivan get pulled away by the woman, who was supposedly his sister.

Arthur knew that everyone was technically allies right now. Every suit was at peace, but Arthur was starting to feel on edge around Ivan now because of what that Joker said…

Arthur sighed as he made his way to the food table. He was just about to pick something up when he felt someone grab his wrists.

* * *

**Hehe, sorry about the cliffhanger, it's just that this chapter would have gone on forever, if I continued it. Anyway, this is a fun, little party. And I like to think that the Jokers like to go to parties just for the purpose of messing with people. They just get to be helpful on some random occasions. We also got to meet all of the Royals very quickly. Sadly, most of them don't get a big part, but I can tell you that a few do get a nice role. **

**Anyway, today is 9/11, and as I'm American, I went through a moment of silence at school today. Thought, it really only lasted about 10 seconds and then we just went on with our day as usual. A bit of a dissapointment, if you ask me...**

**But, moving on, please review and tell me what you think of this so far! I'd really like to know!**

**I don't own Hetalia and I never will.**


	4. Alfred's Smart Ideas

Arthur felt himself whirl around and he was face to face with Francis, who was still holding his wrists. "Francis," Arthur sighed. "I'm not in the mood."

"You should dance with someone," Francis winked. "Why not with me?"

"Because I don't want your hand straying to my arse like last time," Arthur stated, ripping his hands out of Francis' grip.

"You have to dance with someone," Francis smiled, poking Arthur's nose. "You chose or it's going to be with me."

"I can't dance with anyone," Arthur rolled his eyes. That was mostly because he didn't want to, though…

"And why is that?" Francis raised an eyebrow.

"Because he promised to dance with me," a new voice entered the conversation and both of them looked at him.

"Alfred?" Francis asked before Arthur could.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. He was dressed fairly well, adorned in blue and purple in a waiter's outfit. "He said he'd dance with me next song. Which is starting right now."

Before he had a chance to say anything, Arthur was pulled onto the dance floor by Alfred as a new song started. They quickly shifted into the proper position to do the dance and they started.

"You know, it's bad form for a King to dance with a servant," Arthur said, but still laughed slightly.

"Well, you're the King, you make the rules," Alfred smiled and Arthur noticed that a lot of people were staring at them. Under normal situations, Arthur would be very embarrassed. But, for some reason, he didn't quite care at that moment.

"I have to say, you've surprised me here," Arthur chuckled.

"With what?" Alfred cocked his head to the side.

"I had no idea you knew how to dance," Arthur shook his head.

"Yeah, well, my brother helped me a lot with that," Alfred shrugged.

"You have a brother?" Arthur asked.

"He has a twin," Ella's voice whispered in Arthur's ear, but he swatted her away with his hand.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "He works in the stables and the kitchen, usually. He's the one that makes your tea."

"Is that so?" Arthur smiled. "Thank you, by the way. For saving me from Francis."

"Least I could do," Alfred shrugged. "I saved you from the King of Clubs, too," Alfred winked. "I told his sister where he was when she was looking for him. The chick's obsessed with him."

"How do you know this much?" Arthur asked curiously.

"I've been a servant here for a while," Alfred laughed. "I've looked after all the Royals. And I know his sister stalks him wherever he goes and he's terrified of her."

"Useful information," Arthur nodded. "Thanks again, then, for that."

"Not a problem," Alfred smiled. "My current job is to make sure you're happy."

"Who assigns these things?" Arthur asked.

"The Royals, to be honest," Alfred shrugged. "Your uncle was the one that assigned me to you about a year ago."

"I honestly don't know what everyone sees in him," Arthur shook his head.

"Well, he reminds me a lot of you, actually," Alfred laughed. "He's stubborn, sarcastic, has some really huge ass eyebrows, and loves tea."

"So now you're stereotyping me?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe," Alfred smiled. Arthur could tell that the song was about to end, due to the sound of the music in the background, but he honestly didn't want this to end. He felt whole with Alfred around, and he really didn't want to leave.

"My eyebrows aren't that big, are they?" Arthur asked.

"They're massive," Alfred stated and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I was almost sure that you were the only person in the world that hadn't noticed them," Arthur shook his head.

"Hey, it's not like I don't like 'em," Alfred laughed. "I love how they take up half your face."

"Really?" Arthur felt a small blush rise in his face. Why was he blushing?

"Totally," Alfred nodded.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but at that exact moment, that little kid of a Joker ran right into the back of Alfred's legs, shoving him over, laughing the whole time. Just as the song ended and everyone was bowing to their partners, Alfred and Arthur crashed onto the ground. Alfred caught himself on his hands and knees luckily, but not so luckily, he had a hand and leg on either side of Arthur, who was flat on his back underneath him.

"That damn brat…" Arthur muttered underneath his breath as Alfred quickly scrambled to stand up. He held out a hand for Arthur to take, which he did. At the moment their skin made contact, Arthur was practically transported to a different world. He was very weak, in an immense amount of pain, he supposed. He could barely see, barely breathe. But he could tell someone was carrying him.

When Arthur came back to the ballroom, he was pressed up against Alfred's chest. Arthur stepped back and saw that Alfred was shaking his head, like he was just coming back from zoning out.

"I'll be right back," Arthur shook his head and followed after the little Joker.

"A-Arthur?" Alfred called after him, but Arthur easily ignored him.

He bolted after the little Joker and easily caught up with him outside of the dining room, snatching him in his arms.

"There you are, you little wanker," Arthur snapped.

"Hey! Jerk!" the kid squirmed. "I can't teleport yet, idiot!"

"Too bad," Arthur huffed. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You just embarrassed me in front of everyone!"

"I was helping," the kid huffed.

"Really, Peter?" Gilbert sighed, his voice coming from above them. Arthur glanced up and saw Gilbert floating above their heads.

"What are you helping?" Arthur snapped at the kid, Peter.

"The fairies can work on that," Gilbert rolled his eyes and Arthur let go of Peter.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked Gilbert.

"You already know too much," Gilbert righted himself on the ground. "Can't tell you anymore, sorry."

"Maybe you could tell me what these visions I keep seeing when I touch Alfred are," Arthur tried.

"You're getting those?" Gilbert asked.

"Like I'd tell you what they mean, jerk," Peter stuck his tongue out at Arthur.

"I'm not the one going around embarrassing people in their own homes," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, you're gonna have to figure out those visions by yourself," Gilbert patted him on the back. "Don't worry, though, you'll get it pretty soon."

"Right," Arthur shook his head as Gilbert grabbed Peter's hand and they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Arthur quickly turned around and started back to the party. Soon after he stepped back in, he was confronted yet again by Ivan, who was sending shivers down his spine…yet again.

Ivan looked like he was about to say something, but Arthur was quickly jerked away by a pair of hands on his arm.

"There you are," Alfred said protectively, quickly walking them away from Ivan. "Where did you go?"

"Don't worry about it," Arthur shook his head. "Y-You should get back to work."

"Right," Alfred said begrudgingly and started back towards the food table. Arthur quickly walked over to where Francis was talking to the Royalty of Hearts, where he would be most likely safe from Ivan.

The rest of the dance went without incident. Arthur danced with the Queens, except for Kiku, who didn't seem like he was in the mood. And Arthur was even forced to dance with Francis, only because he feared that leaving his side meant he would have to have another alone chat with Ivan.

Personally, he just wanted to leave the party, but he had to wait until practically everyone left before he could. As Francis started leading him out the door, Arthur could see Alfred out of the corner of his eye, cleaning up the food table, but looking back at Arthur, too.

Thankfully, Francis left Arthur alone after they got to Arthur's room, so Arthur was able to just fall face-first on his bed the second he got inside. He had never had to work that hard at a party before. It was usually just one or two people coming up to him because he was the nephew of the King of Spades. But this was completely different. He was pretty sure he had a conversation with everyone and all eyes were on him. Especially after that fall he had with Alfred…

And then there was the Jokers and Ivan…

"Hey Arthur," Ella's voice said happily and Arthur heard her hiccup. Arthur lifted up his head to look at the fairy, who was standing on his bed right in front of his face. "Awesome party, right?"

"Don't tell me you drank alcohol," Arthur groaned.

"A little," Ella giggled. Her cheeks were rosy and she was stumbling to stand up right, even with her wings. "But I saw this hot fairy, so that totally makes up for it. And those Jokers weren't bad looking either. Well…the albino one was…"

"How much did you drink?" Arthur gaped at her, sitting upright.

"Um… a lot…" Ella stumbled onto her back. "But, dude, that vision thing you had with Alfred, so romantic! I approve!"

"Wait, you know what those are?" Arthur asked.

"That'll look so cute when that happens," Ella giggled. "It's a shame it has to happen that way, though…"

"Wait, what are they?" Arthur asked.

"You and Alfie, duh!" Ella laughed.

"Arthur?" Arthur heard a knock at the door and looked up from Ella, dangling his feet over the edge of the bed.

"Yeah?" Arthur called back and the voice took that as their cue to come in. Alfred stepped in.

"You seemed a little stressed back at the party," Alfred mumbled, messing with something behind his back. He started walking towards the desk.

"Yes, well, it wasn't my idea of fun," Arthur rolled his eyes. He could barely see Ella's horrible flying as she went up to investigate what was behind Alfred's back. When she got there, she burst out laughing.

"Just figured I could cheer you up," Alfred shrugged, smiling widely.

"You should start that sentence with an I," Arthur blurted out and mentally rolled his eyes.

"Here, I stole it out of the kitchen," Alfred said and placed a bottle filled with amber liquid on the table.

"You really brought me rum?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" Alfred smiled sweetly. "I heard it's supposed to help you forget about your problems."

"And I also have to go to a meeting tomorrow about my coronation," Arthur sighed, standing up. "I can't go to that hung over."

"Sorry, it was a bad idea," Alfred rubbed the back of his head.

"Thank you for the effort, though, lad," Arthur nodded towards him. "I do think sleep will be my best option, though."

"Worth a shot, right?" Alfred laughed and left the room.

"Sweet, he left the rum," Ella leaned against the bottle on the desk.

"You're not drinking anymore," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Then you drink, stuffy," Ella stuck her tongue out at him.

"I already told Alfred, I have a meeting tomorrow," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to be drunk for that!" Ella laughed. "You'll feel fine in the morning if you just have a few sips." She shoved the drink towards Arthur. In the process, though, it fell off the table. Arthur swiftly caught it so it didn't shatter on the ground.

"You should be more careful," Arthur sighed. "And you should get to sleep."

"I'll sleep," Ella said. "After you take a sip."

"I'm not going to drink," Arthur snapped.

"Life's funner if ya take a shot," Ella slurred.

"I already have to correct Alfred, do I have to correct you, too?" Arthur sighed.

"I ain't gonna stop 'til ya take a shot and drink yer heart out," Ella teased.

"Good Lord, you're hopeless," Arthur glanced down at the bottle. "One sip, and it's off to bed with you."

"Cross my heart," Ella did a crossing motion over her heart, on the wrong side, Arthur might add.

"Fine," Arthur pulled off the cork in the rum and brought the bottle to his lips. It had been a while since he had had the stuff, he forgot what it tasted like. His family and even the servants kept the stuff away from him, but Arthur had no clue why. Then again, he could never remember what happened when he had some alcohol…

When Arthur felt the liquid make its way into his mouth, though, he felt something tip the other end of the bottle more so that a lot more of the rum made it in than he expected. He swallowed it all, burning his throat slightly.

"What the hell?" Arthur slurred, pulling the bottle away.

"I'm just helping you unwind," Ella laughed, landing precariously on Arthur's shoulder.

"You're an idiot," Arthur shook his head, but he looked at the bottle longingly. "I'll admit, though, I do miss this stuff…"

He brought the bottle to his lips again, taking a long swig.

* * *

**Oh, Ella...I love writing her for some reason... And Alfred's gotta be the one to come up with the idea of releaving stress wit rum. This may be Arthur's chance to relax. He needs it after Francis, Ivan, Gilbert, Peter, and all of his work, right? But we'll just have to see what happens while he's "under the influence."**

**Please review! A lot more of you have been doing it as I continue this story and it's making me pretty happy! Every review is like a warm, fluffy hug!**

**I don't and never will own Hetalia.**


	5. Life's Falling Apart

"Arthur still has the rum," Alfred realized with a start when he was still cleaning up after the party in the ballroom.

"What?" a servant gaped at him. "You…you gave him alcohol?"

"Was that a bad idea?" Alfred asked shyly.

"You have to get that back before he drinks it," the servant shook his head. "God, you better hurry before he destroys something." So Alfred took that as his cue to quickly head back to the new King's room.

When he got to the door, though, he heard something unexpected.

"You shouldn't drink so much," Arthur's voice giggled. After a pause, he started laughing, and then spoke again. "I'm bigger! I can take more than you!"

Alfred quickly opened the door, seeing Arthur leaning against his bed for support, staring at something in the air. But he seemed fixated on it, like it was saying something to him.

"Um…hey, Arthur," Alfred muttered. Arthur slowly brought his attention over to him.

"Hey, Alfie," Arthur slurred and stood up, probably to try to walk over to Alfred, but he promptly stumbled, his knees buckling. Luckily, Alfred stepped in quickly and caught him, holding him up.

"Slow down," Alfred chuckled slightly and he could see that Arthur was holding the bottle of rum, mostly empty, in his right hand.

"You're strong," Arthur laughed. Then he looked beyond Alfred to stare at whatever he was staring at before. "Shut up, I know all that…"

"Uh, who are you talking to?" Alfred looked over his shoulder for a second, found no one, and went back to look at Arthur.

"My fairy, of course," Arthur laughed. "You can't see her?"

"I think you should head to bed," Alfred swiftly took the bottle of rum out of Arthur's hand and placed it on the table.

"Hey, I was drinking that…" Arthur muttered.

"And that was our problem, right?" Alfred chuckled. "Come on, then. Sleep."

"Ella's right," Arthur sighed and wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck. "I really wish you would be my King…"

"Aren't you already King?" Alfred tilted his head.

"Pfft," Arthur laughed. "No way in Hell!"

"Then…what are you?" Alfred asked. He knew Arthur was probably just poking fun in his drunken stupor, but a the same time he was interested...

"I'm the…the Queen," Arthur mumbled. "Like anyone cares, though! I-I'm alone…"

"I really think you should go to sleep," Alfred muttered and started to push Arthur towards the bed to lie him down.

"Y-You hate me, don't you?" Arthur muttered, his face darkening slightly.

"What?" Alfred stared down at him. He looked like he was pouting, his bangs falling over his eyes. "No, I don't hate you. You're actually pretty fun to hang around."

"I'm useless…" Arthur sighed. "I can't do it all on my own." He let out a hiccup.

"I'm sure if you rest enough, you'll be fine," Alfred smiled softly and finally rested Arthur on the bed. He wasn't quite sure if he should move the sheets, because Arthur was already falling asleep.

Arthur giggled slightly. "Ella really likes you…"

"Go to sleep," Alfred smiled and, before he could stop himself, lightly kissed the top of Arthur's forehead. Right after, though, he stood straight up, blushing slightly. Why did he just do that? Luckily, Arthur's eyes were closed and his breathing was even. He was asleep. "If I promise to not remember tonight, will you promise to do the same?" he asked a little shakily, leaning against the table.

Alfred stood there for a while, staring. Why did he think that Arthur looked kind of cute...? That wasn't right, that wasn't okay. It was wrong on so many levels. Arthur was a Royal, Alfred was a servant. They were both men, for crying out loud! This kind of thing wasn't healthy. So…why did Alfred still have the urge to kiss his forehead again?

* * *

Arthur cracked his eyes open, but quickly snapped them shut. He had a splitting headache and his head felt like it was threatening to crack open. He swiftly turned over so that his face was pressed against his pillow.

This just completely sucked… He couldn't even remember anything past taking the first sip of that rum…

"Hey, Arthur?" came a voice behind him and it cut into his head like knives.

"What?" Arthur hissed. He really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Uh, people have been looking for you," the voice muttered. "Something about you skipping a meeting."

"Shit!" Arthur sat up and immediately regretted it, his headache getting worse. He gripped onto his head, "Ach…"

"Hey, are you okay?" the person rushed to his side. Arthur glanced up at him and saw that it was Alfred.

"No," Arthur muttered. "I drank that whole bottle of blasted rum you left me."

"I thought you told me that you didn't want to get hung over and that it wasn't the right time," Alfred said and Arthur could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Don't worry about it," Arthur shook his head. He couldn't tell Alfred about Ella, he would definitely think he was insane. "You said I missed a…a meeting?"

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "Parliament's pretty pissed."

"Wonderful," Arthur sighed, running a hand through his hair. He moved to stand up, but his head suddenly started throbbing more and he winced, sitting back down. "Damn…"

"Maybe you should sleep a little more," Alfred suggested.

"No, I can't be any later than I already am," Arthur shook his head. He looked up at his desk and found that Ella was in the same predicament as him, struggling to get upright. "Do you know if they're still in the meeting room?"

"Last I checked," Alfred nodded.

"Would you mind leaving?" Arthur glanced back at Alfred. He did look genuinely concerned about Arthur. "I should change for the meeting."

"Right," Alfred smiled slightly and quickly exited the room.

Arthur took a second to glare at Ella, and then slowly stood up, wincing as his headache got worse. But he still managed to switch his clothes rather quickly, despite all of the pain in his head. On his way out, Ella made her way onto his shoulder and then slumped on her back on it, probably about to go to sleep.

"Some help you are," Arthur muttered and started into the hallway and towards where he remembered the meeting room was. His head was still pounding, but he had to put a tough face on because he was supposed to be the King right now…

Before he even made it to the meeting room, though, he saw one of the members of Parliament, the head actually, stalking angrily down the hallway. When they made eye contact, though, Arthur's heart sank and the man's anger got worse. Arthur mentally steeled himself as the man barged towards him.

"There you are, you brat," the man snapped when he got close enough to Arthur. Ella perked up slightly at seeing another person there. Arthur knew this would do nothing to help his hang over. "Where were you?"

"I apologize," Arthur stated. "I seem to have slept in."

"How about next time you go to a party you make sure you get drunk off your arse?" the man scolded. "I bet that's the reason you slept in. You're probably hung over right now, aren't you?"

"I apologized," Arthur stated. "There is no need to stay on this topic, sir. We should find a different time today to have that meeting, since it is so necessary."

"Dick…" Ella muttered under her breath, even though that wasn't needed. Like he could see her if he tried.

"There's a reason children shouldn't be running Spades," the man spat. "The next meeting for your coronation is tomorrow."

"Yes, I understand," Arthur muttered, choosing not to comment on what the man said before.

"Now go get over your hangover and keep your head low, like you're supposed to," the man sighed and started walking away.

"He's such a bitch…" Ella grumbled, lying on her stomach now.

Arthur waited until the man rounded the corner before he turned around and started storming off to a place he knew he could get peace and quiet and be able to let off some steam. His headache was getting to be a migraine now. As he himself rounded a corner, he nearly ran right into Alfred again.

"Dude, you shouldn't let him walk all over you," Alfred said, looking back to where the man turned. "I mean, you're the King, right? And it's not like you're a kid, right? I mean, you're at least 20, right? He doesn't control what you-"

"Alfred," Arthur cut in, making Alfred stop. Arthur did agree with everything Alfred said, and he was extremely irritated. But he just couldn't explode now. "You're not helping." Arthur quickly walked away from Alfred and started towards the garden that expanded across the back of the castle. He knew that there was a hedge maze that he could easily get lost in.

So he wasted no time charging outside and into said maze.

"Hey, Arthur, are you okay?" a fairy who lived in the garden fluttered in his face.

"Not in the slightest," Arthur snapped and continued through the maze he had memorized as a little kid.

"Anything we can do to help?" a different fairy asked.

"Well, I would love to hit something, or throw something, or scream," Arthur stated. "So, if any of you would like to help with that, it would be very much appreciated." Arthur stopped at a corner, knowing nothing but a simple table was around. No one could be around anyway…

"Well, don't look at me…" Ella muttered.

"I can blame you for this whole mess," Arthur snapped at her.

"Hey, blame Alfred! He's the one that brought the rum!" Ella argued. "My head hurts."

"Good," Arthur rolled his eyes, holding his own head. "Alfred did nothing wrong, he was just trying to help."

"It was good rum, though," Ella chuckled slightly.

"You encouraged him to drink?" the first fairy demanded.

"A whole bottle of rum," Arthur shook his head.

"Ella! What kind of a guardian fairy are you?" the second fairy scolded and several more started coming in.

"It's fine," Arthur sighed and started pacing. "No one was around. On the other hand…it did make a fool of me in front of Parliament…"

"What happened?"

"They just think I'm an idiot and that I can't do this," Arthur groaned. "Which I can't by myself. He's right…I'm just some kid trying and failing to run Spades…"

"What?" Ella asked. "You're kidding me, right?"

"You know as well as I do that I can't do this," Arthur sighed.

"If you couldn't do this, could you have lasted this long?" Ella demanded.

"The only reason I've lasted this long is because Alfred is around keeping me sane…" Arthur sighed and stopped pacing. "But he's probably going to get kicked out for leaving me that bottle…"

"Trust us, he's not going anywhere," a couple of the fairies said.

"I'm getting tired of these cryptic messages," Arthur rolled his eyes. His headache still wasn't going away. Then, he thought of something he hadn't before. "Ella, was anyone in my room last night when I was drunk. Before I fell asleep?"

"Hell if I can remember," Ella muttered. "I can't remember after about 10 minutes into Francis' party."

"Of course you don't…" Arthur shook his head. That was when he heard the voices.

"I swear that is mon cher's voice," Francis' voice muttered and one thought came to Arthur's mind. _Shit._

"It would be great to see if he knows how to get us out of here," Ludwig's voice sighed. "We've been stuck for an hour because of you."

"It is not all my fault!" Francis scoffed. "I just think that the garden is beautiful."

"Where did Ivan go?" Ludwig asked suddenly.

Arthur winced slightly and turned around to go back to the entrance and hopefully avoid them, but he quickly caught eye contact with someone.

"Ivan?"

* * *

**Heh, another kind-of cliffhanger... So, yeah, there's Arthur drunk. You know, I don't think Alfred's going to be missing out on anything being gay. Arthur practically goes through his period everytime he gets drunk, so Alfie doesn't need a girl! Personally, though, I don't think this is my best chapter... It's not all that great... Um, anyway, we got to see a little bit from Alfred's view. And that does happen a lot later in the story, but the main character is still Arthur. It's just that that other point of view is necissary, you'll find out later.**

**So... Reviews are always well loved! I would love to hear from you!**

**I don't own Hetalia and I won't ever.**


	6. Tick Tock Goes The Clock

Arthur gaped at the man in front of him. "Ivan?" Was he here that whole time?

"Talking to yourself again, da?" Ivan tilted his head and Arthur swallowed hard. "Should I be concerned?"

"N-Not at all," Arthur shook his head.

"Talking to air is not healthy, comrade," Ivan smiled.

"Trust me, I'm fine," Arthur stated, edging away from Ivan.

"Ah, there you are, mon cher," Francis' voice sighed with relief and then two arms snaked their way around Arthur's waist, making him stiffen.

"Francis, get the hell off me," Arthur snapped.

"What is wrong, Arthur?" Francis rested his head on the opposite shoulder Ella was resting on.

"Dammit, Francis, I'm not in the mood!" Arthur hissed and Francis immediately backed off. Arthur's headache still hadn't gotten better.

"Arthur," Ludwig walked in front of Arthur, more or less next to Ivan, "I can tell you are stressed, but we are lost. Would you mind helping us find our way out?"

"Right, yes," Arthur nodded and quickly started back the way he came through the maze. He had to admit, it felt very intimidating being alone with 3 Kings. It was even scarier when he thought about how he was really a Queen without a King for himself.

"Arthur," Ella whispered, flying close to Arthur's ear. "I think Ivan saw that whole thing. I feel really stupid for not noticing. Do…do you think he'll tell anyone anything?"

Arthur didn't reply. Partly because he couldn't reply and not seem insane. But mostly because he wasn't sure. Reading Ivan was nearly impossible and he was pretty sure he had seen Arthur talking to "air" three times by now. And then there was when he was drunk. Arthur nearly froze at that thought. He had nearly forgotten that the royals were staying for a while after the party. Was there a possibility Ivan saw him drunk? This wasn't good…

"Here," Arthur managed out as they came to the entrance of the maze and the three filed out in front of him. "If you don't need my assistance anymore…?"

"You could hang around and talk, Arthur," Francis tried. "You seem rather upset and perhaps talking will help you through it."

"It's just that I have a lot on my mind," Arthur shook his head. "I was hoping a walk could clear my head…"

"And it would be rude to keep you from that," Ludwig glared at Francis.

"Thank you," Arthur nodded towards them and turned around to go back into the maze. He could see out of the corner of his eye, though, when he started back in, that Ivan was watching him intently. A shiver went down Arthur's spine as he quickly walked into the maze. All of the fairies were murmuring something about Ivan.

"Do you think he saw?"

"Do you think he can actually see us?"

"Everyone be quiet," Arthur snapped, rubbing his head. "This is no time for freaking out."

"But…" Ella muttered. "Now that Parliament thinks you're not fit in the first place… If Ivan tells them about this, you could get booted out."

"This," Arthur took out the small clock that chose him from his pocket, "protects me from that. As long as the Clocks think that I'm fit, then I can stay."

"And what if everyone thinks your insane," another fairy flew up to him. "If all of Spades deems you unfit, then you actually can get taken out."

"That is not helping," Arthur sighed, stowing the clock again. "For now, we hope Ivan keeps his mouth shut and that the real King is found soon."

"Arthur?" a new, non-fairy, voice called out.

"Yes?" Arthur replied loudly enough for them to hear.

"Oh, thank God dude," the voice laughed and it was obvious that it was Alfred. "I was told you were in here, but I got lost."

"Alfred…" Arthur groaned.

"I figured I could bring you tea for your…erm…predicament," Alfred said. "I wanted to try to find you before it got cold."

"Stay where you are," Arthur sighed and started moving to where he knew the voice was. "I'll come and find you."

"Thanks so much," Alfred's voice sighed. It was getting louder as Arthur got closer to him. He quickly rounded a corner and found Alfred staring at the sky with a teacup in his hands.

"You're hopeless," Arthur shook his head.

"I was just trying to say sorry…" Alfred smiled shyly, holding out the cup.

"Well, thank you," Arthur nodded, taking the cup. "Mind following me to a table?"

"You have tables in here?" Alfred gaped.

"It's for idiots who get themselves lost," Arthur chuckled and turned back around to find that table again.

"How many are there?" Alfred asked in wonder.

"About 10," Arthur stated. "We have quite a few since it's a large maze. There are also two tables at the entrance and exit."

"Wow," Alfred said.

"You've worked here for a year," Arthur stated. "How do you not know the garden that well?"

"I've never worked in the garden, really," Alfred shrugged. "I know my way around the castle, I know it like the back of my hand. But…the backyard is mostly Mattie's specialty."

"I would rather like to meet your brother, Alfred," Arthur stated as they came up to the table. Arthur sat down and motioned Alfred to do the same, which he did. They sat across from each other and a swarm of fairies landed on the table. It was hard for Arthur to find a place to set the cup down.

"He's not much of a people person," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "And I'm sure he'd be really nervous around the King…so…"

"Maybe eventually," Arthur smiled. "So, did your brother make this tea?"

"Um, no," Alfred shook his head. "He wasn't there, so I had to make it myself."

"Do you know how to make tea?" Arthur quirked an eyebrow.

"I guess we'll find out," Alfred laughed.

"I don't know if I can trust you," Arthur chuckled and picked the cup back up. He took a tentative sip and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still warm. And it actually tasted…pleasantly sweet. It wasn't exactly the most amazing tea Arthur had ever tasted, but it was rather nice. And it did help his headache greatly. "And you've surprised me again…"

"Really? It's good?" Alfred stared at him like a lost puppy.

"Yes, Alfred, it's wonderful," Arthur nodded. He noticed a lot of the fairies giggling and whispering things to each other. "I wish you had come sooner… This would have helped my headache a lot…"

"Sorry it's a little delayed," Alfred laughed slightly. There was a small pause in between them. But, for some reason, it wasn't awkward. It was rather nice. "I…I'm sorry. About the whole rum thing…"

"It wasn't your fault," Arthur nodded politely. "You were just trying to help and I understand that. Thank you."

"You probably wouldn't have slept in and got in all that trouble if I hadn't brought in the rum," Alfred muttered, twiddling his thumbs.

"And I am the one who drank it," Arthur stated. "That was not your fault. You didn't force me to drink anything."

"Okay," Alfred said hesitantly. "I-uh… I have another reason for trying to find you."

"What is that?" Arthur took another sip of the tea.

"You're mom's here again," Alfred said. "And she said that she wanted to talk to you. She said it didn't matter what time, that she understood that you were busy."

"Do you know what she wanted to talk to me about?" Arthur asked.

"She said it had something to do with the other royals," Alfred said.

"What about them?" Arthur asked, putting the cup down.

"I don't know," Alfred shrugged. "When I left, I heard her talking about clocks."

"Where is she?" Arthur stood up suddenly.

"Uh…I'm pretty sure it's in the same room you were supposed to go for that meeting," Alfred said.

"Come on," Arthur said and started walking quickly through the maze, forgetting the cup at the table.

"What? Why?" Alfred easily caught up with Arthur.

"I know you wouldn't be able to find your way out of this," Arthur looked behind his shoulder and at Alfred. "So I figure it would be best for you to find your way back with me."

"Have you ever gotten lost in here?" Alfred asked.

"When I was a kid," Arthur shrugged. "I've memorized it by now."

"Did you used to live here?" Alfred asked as they got to the entrance and started through the garden, back to the castle.

"No, only immediate family of the Royals can," Arthur said. "My uncle was the King and being a nephew doesn't count. We did visit a lot, and I preferred to stay in the maze to get away from my brothers."

"So… why doesn't your mom live here?" Alfred asked.

"She didn't want to stay here when my uncle ruled," Arthur stated, "because that would mean leaving the rest of her family behind. And, as I am not an official Royal yet, she can't stay. My brothers can't either."

"How many brothers do you have?" Alfred cocked his head to the side.

"3," Arthur said simply.

"Are you guys close?" Alfred asked.

"Not really," Arthur sighed. "We haven't been exactly nice to each other for the past couple years. Why do you want to know so much about me?"

"Well, you're my King, or you will be," Alfred shrugged. "I figured I should know more about you."

"Yes, well, thanks for that," Arthur nodded as they entered the castle. "You said she was in the meeting room, right?"

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "I should tell you, though, a few of the Parliament members are in there with her, last I checked."

"Lovely," Arthur sighed. "Just what I need…"

"So…you know what she wants to talk about?" Alfred asked.

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "It's…a bit complicated to explain, though."

"What do clocks have to do with finding royalty, though?" Alfred asked.

"I'd rather not have to explain it now," Arthur sighed and stopped in front of the doors to the meeting room. As they stopped, though, Arthur could hear voices arguing. Alfred was about to say something, but Arthur cut him off. "Sh, can you hear what they're saying?"

"Didn't know you were a peeping tom," Alfred laughed, but Arthur shushed him again.

Soon, the two had their ears pressed to the door, trying to listen in on the conversation.

"He's just a kid, he's not fit!"

"If he wasn't fit, then the clock wouldn't have chosen him."

"He's a kid! He slept in with a hangover!"

"And he will be fine. Once we find someone to help him-"

"Who would even try to help fix this train wreck! I'm one mistake away from leaving!"

Arthur set his jaw. He was their Queen and they were talking about him like he was a kid who was good at nothing but causing trouble.

"If we don't find someone soon, Spades will die."

"I doubt anyone can even be compatible with him. You've heard what happens between the King and Queen of Spades."

"If we let someone like him try to rule it, we're doomed."

"That's it," Arthur muttered and stormed into the room, the door flying open. "I am the only bloody Royal you have," Arthur snapped at them. "And you have the gall to say that I am making everything fall apart?"

The room had four people in it. Three members of Parliament and then Arthur's mother. Alfred had apparently chosen to stay outside.

"You cannot even reign without a proper King to rule for you, remember?" one of the Parliament replied.

"Then why am I doing all of your work for you?" Arthur glared at him.

"We're tempted to take that away from you," another member sighed. "You're doing such a horrible job anyway."

"And we can fix that," Arthur's mother prompted quickly and happily. "They've finally found the King and Jack clocks."

"They have?" Arthur snapped his attention to her and rushed over to her.

"About time," a member scoffed and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It took a while to find them from…what happened," Arthur's mother said tentatively. Arthur knew full well what happened to the last Royals. It was far too gruesome to talk about, so no one did. "Wonderful news, though. It appears your King is actually in this castle."

* * *

**Hopefully, this will explain why no one had found the King and Jack clocks yet. Basically, the last three Royals died in a war, this will be explained later. And it took them this long to find the other two clocks. Arthur's clock worked out to just be found first, I suppose. Anyway, the whole way the clocks choose everyone is next chapter and then things really start to heat up! Can't wait!**

**Sorry this chapter was uploaded so late in the day... It's just that a lot happened. My dad's birthday, anime convention, all that jazz...**

**Anyway, review if you like.**

**And I don't own Hetalia.**


	7. The Queens Insanity

Arthur stared at the clocks he was just given, both of them resting next to each other on his desk in his room. The Jack Clock had the hour hand moving off in the direction that looked like East, while the other two hands ticked the seconds away. He was probably far away… That would make the search for Jack a little harder… The King Clock was a different story however. The second hand was the one staying relatively still, meaning that the King was close with the other two marking the seconds. The second hand was moving back and forth, like the person was pacing. Considering it was the second hand, the person must have been really close.

Eventually, the second hand stopped, pointing towards Arthur's door. Arthur glanced between the door and the clock for a while and it seemed deathly silent except for the ticking of the clocks. After a long while, the knob to his door started to turn.

And then Alfred came into the room. Arthur quickly looked back down at the clock and back up at Alfred. The second hand was definitely pointing at him.

"Hey, Arthur, I got something to tell you," Alfred said, fumbling with his words awkwardly.

"Yes, well, I have something to tell you, too," Arthur muttered, staring down at the clock.

"Really?" Alfred asked, surprised. "You aren't mad at me for barging into your room and using bad grammar?"

"Well, you could have knocked," Arthur said without much amusement. "And good on you for seeing your mistake, but this has nothing to do with that. I want you to look at these clocks."

"Sure," Alfred said and walked towards the table. Arthur glanced up at him to make sure he was looking at them before looking back down.

"These clocks are not ordinary, obviously," Arthur said. "These are the clocks used to find the royals of Spades. Magic powers them, but, since most people don't believe in magic, they believe that the Parliament or the people chose them to be the best. When the minute and the second hand are moving together to mark the seconds, then the hour hand is basically indicating where they are, following them. The same goes with the other two. If the hour hand is pointing towards them, then they are far away, but if the second hand is following them, then they're close. Are you following me?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Arthur pulled out his own clock from the pocket. "You see, when the designated royal picks up the clock that belongs to them, the hands stop acting weird and immediately go to telling time. Watch." Arthur set the clock down on the table and the hour and minute hands started ticking with the second, but the second hand pointed towards him. When he picked it up, however, the hands went back to their regular spots. "Now, I want you to know that I only got these today, so I had no way of knowing who the clocks would choose."

"Um, okay," Alfred said.

Arthur looked down at the King Clock again, making sure it was on Alfred still. "Also, this clock, that chose me, is in fact the Queen Clock… I 've been hiding it for my pride…This one," he pointed at the clock that was pointing towards Alfred, "is the King Clock."

Alfred stared down at it for a second with wide eyes.

"Dude, it's totally pointing at me," Alfred muttered.

"Exactly," Arthur nodded.

"But…" Alfred started down at it for a while. "But…I can't be a-a King…I'm a…a peasant and stuff…"

"Fate decides it," Arthur stated. "But, the only way to really tell is if you pick it up."

"So…If I'm King…" Alfred muttered, moving his fingers so that they were just about to touch the clock. "How will you tell the people you lied to them?"

"They'll be more distracted by the fact that I'm a male Queen," Arthur sighed. "Please, though. I do need to know if I have a King."

"Right," Alfred rubbed the back of his head with one hand and picked up the clock with the other. But in a way that Arthur couldn't see what it was saying. But Arthur could see through the way Alfred was staring at it exactly what it said. "H-holy shit…"

"My reaction was pretty similar," Arthur chuckled slightly.

"This totally tops what I was going to tell you," Alfred ran a hand through his hair. "H-How are we going to work this out? I don't even know what I'm supposed to do or…anything…"

"You run the country, just as I've been doing for this whole time," Arthur explained. "Except you have my help. And, now that we have the clock, we can find our Jack. With a complete set of royals, we'll be much stronger. And I'm afraid that will be necessary with Clubs, considering how their King has been acting." There was one thing Arthur was leaving out, though, and he felt a little guilty. But he wasn't sure how to tell Alfred about it…The fact that the King and Queen of Spades are destined to fall in love with each other.

"Right…" Alfred carefully set the clock down.

"You know, you're supposed to keep it," Arthur smiled slightly. "By the way, what did you come in here to talk about in the first place? According to the clock, you were pacing in front of the door."

"Oh, right, I-I wanted to tell you something," Alfred said awkwardly. "I've been wanting to tell you for a while, actually…"

Before either of them could say anything more, the door burst open, turning both of the boy's attentions there. 4 men came in, accompanied by some knights.

"Um, hi?" Alfred said, but he was promptly shoved out the way. "Hey!"

Two men came on either side of Arthur, the ones closest to him grabbing his arms and lifting him up from the chair.

"What is the meaning of this?" Arthur demanded, trying in vain to get out of their grasp.

"Queen Arthur Kirkland, you have been diagnosed as insane. You are to be taken into the Spades asylum for treatment," a knight stated bluntly.

Arthur stopped his protests, his eyes going wide. How did they know he was Queen? More importantly, though… "I am not insane!" Arthur spat.

"We have evidence from a King," one of the men holding him stated. "He has seen you, on multiple occasions, talking to thin air as if someone were there."

"Which King?" Arthur asked, already knowing who it was.

"King Ivan of Clubs," a knight informed and the men started dragging Arthur towards the door.

"I am not insane, dammit!" Arthur tried again to struggle out of their grip.

"Arthur!" Alfred yelled, but Arthur saw the door close behind them. "Arthur!"

"You have no right to take me to a…an asylum!" Arthur snapped at them.

"You are unfit to work," one of the men holding him still informed. "You will be stripped of your responsibilities until you are deemed fit again."

"Someone thinking I'm talking to nothing does not mean I am unfit," Arthur argued.

"That one person was a King," the other one on his arms commented. "And not like you were pretending to be."

"Do not worry, as a Royal, you will be given the best treatment we have, to help you get cured quickly," one of the two not holding Arthur's arms said.

"I don't need to be cured of anything!" Arthur snapped.

"Tell that to your 'fairies'," one of them snickered and Arthur glared at him.

* * *

"Arthur!" Alfred yelled as he watched Arthur get dragged out of the room. He tried to chase after them, but the door slammed closed in front of him. "Arthur!" Alfred rammed against the door. This couldn't have been happening. Arthur said that he would help him with being King… He couldn't do it alone… Alfred slammed his fist one last time against the door before he went back to the desk.

All Alfred wanted to do in the first place was confess to Arthur how he really felt. How he felt for a while, actually…That he loved him…

Arthur's clock was sitting on the desk with the other two. They were all ticking the seconds together. Alfred's clock had the second hand pointing at him, the Jack Clock had the hour hand pointing off somewhere, and Arthur's clock had the minute hand pointing outside the castle…

The door behind him opened and Alfred turned around, picking up his clock.

"My apologies for that mess…" a knight said.

"You know what this clock is, right?" Alfred walked up to him, showing the clock to the man.

"That would be the…" the knight paused for a second, looking at the clock. "King Clock." And then he knelt down, bowing his head. "My King…"

"Right," Alfred rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It was the King of Clubs that accused Arthur of insanity, right?"

"Yes, sire," the knight said.

"You can stand, dude," Alfred said. The knight gave him a weird look before standing up. "The other Kings and Queens are still here, right?"

"They leave tomorrow," a knight stated.

"Thanks," Alfred muttered and ran out of the room. He was going to find that King of Clubs if it killed him. What was his name…? Ivan…? By asking a few of the servants he knew, he was able to find out that all the Kings were in the garden. They were supposed to be in front of the maze.

Alfred ran outside of the castle and into the garden. He easily found the maze, with the other three Kings standing in front of the entrance. From what he could remember, the intimidating, tall blonde was the King of Hearts, that douche with the long, blonde, hair was the King of Diamonds, Francis, and then the man with the scarf and white hair was the King of Clubs, Ivan. At least, he hoped so…

Alfred slowed to a walk when he came up to them and stopped when they all turned towards him.

"Who are you?" the King of Hearts asked.

"And where is mon cher, Arthur?" Francis flipped his hair.

"He…can't come," Alfred said slowly.

"And do tell us what has happened to our fellow King, comrade," Ivan smiled creepily.

"You," Alfred growled, glaring at him. Before he could think straight, Alfred stepped towards him, but the King of Hearts stepped in his way.

"There is no need for violence," he stated, massaging the bridge of his nose. "You still haven't answered my question. Who are you?"

"My name is Alfred F. Jones," Alfred stated. "You could say I'm here on behalf of the King."

"One way to say it, da?" Ivan giggled and Alfred felt himself snap.

He side-stepped to get away from the King of Hearts and immediately grabbed onto the collar of Ivan's shirt. They were roughly the same height, so it was slightly awkward. "What the hell gives you the right to claim someone is insane?" Alfred spat at him. "This is the first time I met you and I can tell you are far more insane than Arthur."

"He was talking to thin air," Ivan stated simply, obviously not intimidated. The King of Hearts placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder, but Alfred quickly shrugged it off. "I thought of it as my duty to tell Spades that their Queen was unfit to rule."

"What are you two talking about?" Francis asked worriedly as the King of Hearts finally succeeded in pulling them apart. Ivan was standing quite still, while Alfred was fighting to punch Ivan in the face.

"I saw our comrade having a conversation with nothing," Ivan said calmly. "So I decided it best to get him the proper medical attention to correct his head."

"There is nothing wrong with him!" Alfred snapped.

"Arthur has been sent to an asylum?" Francis asked.

"Da," Ivan smiled. "I think it's the best place for him."

"But that leaves Spades without a ruler again," the King of Hearts shook his head. "That may not have been the best decision, Ivan."

"Perhaps," Ivan smiled slightly. And in the blink of an eye, he disappeared in the maze.

"Come back here!" Alfred yelled, easily shoving the King of Hearts out of his way, and followed him in. Alfred ran at full speed, he was going to make that idiot pay for doing this to Arthur. The second he found him… "Ivan!"

In no time at all, he ran out on the other side of the maze, greeted with the gaze of the three Queens, Ivan standing calmly next to the Queen of Clubs. Alfred glared dangerously at him as Francis and the King of Hearts ran up behind him.

"Who are you?" the Queen of Diamonds asked politely.

"My name is Alfred F. Jones," Alfred didn't break eye contact with Ivan. "King of Spades."

* * *

**Ooo! So exciting! I've made Alfie a little bit violent there, but don't worry, he gets worse! Um, I don't know what made me think of this, the whole Arthur being insane thing. It just came to me one day. But, hey, it makes for a really good story. I got this one in a little earlier than yesterday, how awesome. Anyway...**

**Please review! Tell me what you think of this whole asylum thingie!**

**I don't own Hetalia and I never will**


	8. Off Your Rocker

"Arthur is King, though," Francis muttered.

"My Queen is currently being accused of insanity at the moment, sorry," Alfred grumbled.

"Where is your proof that you are King?" Ivan asked calmly.

"Here," Alfred tossed the King clock onto the table and angrily walked away. When he was out of their line of sight, he broke into a sprint. He ran until he reached where he remembered the stables were, where his brother was working.

"Alfred?" Mathew, his twin, blinked when he got there. "What's wrong?" He was apparently in the middle of brushing a horse.

"Where is the asylum?" Alfred panted, hand on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"West of the castle, just outside of the capital," Mathew informed. "Should I ask what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you about it when I bring him back," Alfred quickly mounted a random horse and kicked it to get it going. He had ridden a horse before, so he knew what he was doing. But it was a little awkward riding one without a saddle. Awkward and painful. But he could handle it if he could save Arthur.

He had the horse run full speed in the direction he was told to go. He nearly ran over several people as he ran through the capital, but he didn't even bother to say sorry. He just stared straight forward and kept going as fast as possible. When he left the outskirts of the capital, he was met with a short spurt of a forest until it suddenly ended and he was on a dirt path, which he followed for what seemed like forever. This whole ride seemed like it was taking far too long. He would kill someone if anything bad happened to Arthur by the time he got there. Soon, he could see the form of a building in front of him.

He hardly slowed down as he came towards the building. There were a couple people to greet him in front of the door. Alfred quickly hopped off the horse and barely acknowledged the people as he stormed into the building. It was rather big on the outside, but the room he came into was rather small, with only a man at a desk in the front and one torch. The antechamber had a very creepy feeling and Alfred stifled a shiver as he walked in, desperately trying to ignore the fact that the place was probably hoarded with ghosts. He was here to save Arthur, not get terrified.

"Hello," the man at the desk said calmly.

"One of your patients," Alfred said, going up to the desk and staring the man in his creepy, soulless eyes, "Arthur Kirkland, doesn't belong here. I've come to take him back with me."

"Terribly sorry, he is not cleared to leave yet," the man said simply. His cool stare was definitely scaring Alfred, but he had to ignore that for now.

"You didn't even look at anything!" Alfred snapped.

"He will be able to leave when he's cured," the man stated.

"Look," Alfred leaned toward him, forgetting his fear for a second. "I am the King of Spades. You are to listen to me and let him go. Now."

"That can only be decided by his doctor," the man seemed completely unperturbed by Alfred's threatening voice. "When he's well again, he can leave."

"He's not even insane in the first place, dammit!" Alfred felt like ripping his hair out. Before either of them could say any more, someone came out of the only other door in the room that wasn't the front. Actually, it was two people, working together to carry a limp and lifeless man. The thing that horrified Alfred the most was the fact that he had scars all over his shirtless body and when that door opened, he could hear a scream. Alfred's eyes followed them, going wide, as they went out the front door. "Is that what happens to most of your patients?" Alfred demanded.

"You do not need to worry," the man shook his head.

"Don't need to worry?" Alfred yelled at the man. He looked at that door that the people came out of for a while. Swallowing all his courage, he ran up to the door and tried to pull at the handle, but it wouldn't open no matter how much he pulled. And soon, he was dragged away by the two people who brought the dead man outside.

On his way out the door, the creepy man said, "Arthur Kirkland is the Queen of Spades, he will be given the best treatment we have. He will be out in no time."

"What treatment is that, exactly?" Alfred asked.

* * *

"Where are you bloody taking me?" Arthur snapped, still struggling against the grip of the people moving him through the halls. When he was first brought to this insanely creepy place, he was shackled to a simple bed in a room for a while, maybe an hour, he didn't know. All he knew is that he could hear a few screams every now and then. Plus, not even the fairies in this place seemed to have their heads on right. They were flying in zigzags and laughed uncontrollably at everything. They didn't even talk.

And now these people refused to talk to him and were dragging him to some place he didn't know. Arthur tried to dig his heels into the ground, but that effort was in vain, because they finally reached an open door.

He was promptly shoved inside, still held on both sides by those people. The room was simple, but there were two wooden tubs in it with just a few feet inbetween them. They looked big enough for a man to fit in. There was a man standing in between the tubs and Arthur was moved up to him, his arms held behind him. He could see that the tubs were filled with water on either side of him. But one of the tubs seemed to have steam coming off it.

"Hello, Arthur," the man stated calmly.

"Hi," Arthur glared at him.

"You do know why you are here, right?" the man asked.

"Because some imbecile decided that I was insane," Arthur stated. "I am not, therefore, I don't need to be here!"

"You believe in fairies, I'm told," the man said.

"Yes," Arthur replied simply.

"There is no such thing as fairies," the man shook his head. "Sorry for being the one to break the news to you."

"Well, I do believe in fairies," Arthur tried to yank his arms free again, to no avail. "Sorry for not caring that you're an idiot who can't see them."

"Magic does not exist," the man stated firmly.

"Yes it does," Arthur countered. "If magic didn't exist, I would love to see your explanation for how the Royals are chosen."

"I am afraid you are far worse off than I imagined," the man sighed.

"There's nothing bloody wrong with me!" Arthur yelled at him.

"The water treatment will help you tell the difference between reality and imaginary," the man said, turning around on his heel. He made a motion with his finger and, at first, Arthur was confused with what it meant.

But then he was shoved to the left, lost his balance, and toppled into one of the tubs filled with water. It was freezing and the impact knocked all the breath out of him. Arthur took a moment to register what happened, noting that the tub wasn't exactly big, perhaps four feet tall, so he started to stand up to get air.

But, he saw a pole come into the water and connected with his stomach, slamming him onto the bottom of the pool. Arthur was desperately trying to breathe and he could see the bubbles coming out of his mouth lessening as he tried to break away from the pole. He struggled with all he had, until he started becoming weaker and weaker, and his vision started tunneling.

He was going to die here… Arthur tried one last attempt to break free, before he let himself go limp and his vision went completely black.

The next second, Arthur's eyes snapped open and he started coughing horribly and gasping for air on the ground in between the tubs. Someone dropped him onto the ground, so he was on his hands and knees, trying to get his breath back.

"What-" a cough cut Arthur off. "What the hell was that?!"

"It may have knocked some sense into you," the man's voice stated. Arthur was still panting, but now one of his hands was gripping his chest, making sure his heart was beating normally.

"You're the insane one if you think that's what it did," Arthur panted.

"Please, Arthur, tell me, do fairies exist?"

"Of course they do," Arthur glared at him. "You dunking me in water and nearly drowning me can't change my mind about that."

Arthur looked up just in time to see the man motion with his hand again. Before Arthur could protest or suck in a breath, he was picked up and shoved into the tub to the right, which was filled with scalding hot water.

* * *

**Sorry for the slightly short chapter, but my author's note will probably make it up, because I'm going to be explaining something. Before I do, though...I feel kinda bad for doing this to Arthur. I just got an England Plushie and I keep on staring at him guiltily... I do feel really bad for practically killing him. A lot. But that's how asylums basically work in this time period.**

**Explanation time. So, I spent about an hour searching up good treatments for insanity back in that time. And insanity was anything from a speech impediment to mentally disabled. What they basically tried to do was suck the crazy out of you. Some people implanted sheep blood into their patients because it was believed that putting the blood of a sane animal into an insane one would cure you. I would have done that to Arthur, but then he would deffinitely die. So I went with the Water Treatment. Basically, the patient is dunked in alternating boiling and freezing water until they just about die. Then they are "revived" and they do it again. Sometimes, the patient is put in a metal box and left until no bubbles come out, or they're just held under water. I really don't want Arthur to die, so I'm just having them hold him with a pole. Fun, right? Also, when you're not undergoing "treatment," you're put into isolation, where you can't do anything. **

**So, there's your history lesson for today!**

**Also, this whole weekend, I've being going to the Denver NDK! That's why my updates have been awkward and stuff, 'cause I've been busy!**

**Anyway, tell me what you think in a nice review. I love everyone's reviews, even if they're short.**

**And I do not and never will own Hetalia.**


	9. I Found You!

Arthur's room was so creepily empty as Alfred paced in it, constantly glancing back at the Jack and Queen clocks. He started running his hand through his hair, his stomach coiling into knots.

"Dammit, I can't do this alone," Alfred muttered to himself. He couldn't get Arthur out of that damn asylum and he had so much work to do anyway, as King of Spades… Alfred still couldn't get used to that title. Arthur promised that he would help him with this, he didn't even know what to do in the first place. Luckily, no one really knew that he was King. But the leaving Kings and Queens would probably gossip about it…"Maybe…" Alfred glanced at the Jack Clock. It was pointing South…

Alfred quickly grabbed it and stalked out of the room. He made it to the stables in no time and he felt his pocket to make sure that the King Clock was still there. After he got back from the asylum, Francis gave it back to him. He seemed thoroughly worried about Arthur, too. Which was great, Alfred needed all the support he could get.

After nodding a quick "Hello," to his brother, he grabbed another random horse (this time making sure to grab a saddle, too) and started out, using the clock as a compass. He figured that the Jack would be around the outskirts of the capitol, but as he made it about an hour out of it and the hour hand was still pointing, that hope was shattered. He rode for a while, passing multiple towns on his way.

He was beginning to think he should turn back after another hour, when he saw the minute hand move to point and the hour hand started moving to the seconds. Alfred stared at it for a second before looking up and seeing a town coming up. He slowed his horse down so that he wouldn't run anyone over and continued following the clock. The people were nice and polite, smiling and moving out of the way. Alfred smiled and nodded in return. He continuously glanced down at the clock until he saw the second hand move to follow the new Jack. He stopped the horse and looked forward. There was a house at the end of the road that was slightly bigger than the others.

* * *

Arthur was pulled out of the freezing cold water again and he flopped onto his back to try to get his breath back.

"So, Arthur, do you still believe in magic?" that man asked again.

"For God's sake! Yes!" Arthur yelled back at him. "This is frankly idiotic… Don't you think you're going to kill me eventually?"

"I have been a doctor in this field for many years, my Queen," the man stated. "I know exactly when to take you out of the water."

"And how many people did you kill to get it right?" Arthur glared at him. The man simply nodded towards the people behind Arthur and he was shoved into the hot water again. Like all the other times, he was forced under while he struggled for dear life until he blacked out and he came to on that damn little path. They had been going through this routine for Lord knows how long. He wasn't allowed to sleep very much. He would be given an hour of sleep, which was supposed to be isolation, and then he was forced back here to endure this torture. He didn't know what time it was and he didn't know how much time had passed since he had first gotten here. Frankly, he was getting bored and tired of this.

"Arthur-"

"Yes!" Arthur snapped, keeping his eyes closed. "You know my answer and it won't change, God dammit!"

"Send him back to his room," the man stated.

"You're insane," Arthur muttered as the people helped him to his feet. Last Arthur remembered, he had yet to eat at this place, and all of his strength had drained from him. He could barely walk, so he now relied on the people dragging him back and forth to get him places.

Without a word, the people shoved him in his room, sat him on the bed, shackled him to the bed post, and left. Without thinking much, Arthur laid down on the bed and fell asleep in a second. He was freezing…

* * *

Alfred got off his horse and tied it to a post in front of a nearby shop. Several people came up to him trying to talk. But Alfred had to politely decline every time. On any other occasion, he would have stopped and talked and laughed with them, had a good time. But he was alone in ruling a country, which he didn't know how to do, and the man he loved was in an asylum having God knows what being done to him. He was pretty sure he couldn't handle doing much talking anymore or he would crack.

Alfred came up to the house, a little nervous. He checked the clock once more to make sure that it was pointing at the house, and then he knocked loudly on the door. The second hand was now pointing towards the door, which was a good sign.

"I'll get it, da-ze!" a person yelled from inside and the door flew open, leading to Alfred getting tackled by a hug. "Hugs were invented in Spades, you know," the young man said as they separated.

"Uh…hi," Alfred said and checked the clock to make sure it wasn't pointed at him. He sighed with relief when he saw it pointing a little bit to the right. "Um…look, I'm looking for someone and there's something leading me to think that they're in your house. Mind letting me look around?"

"Hm…" the young man thought for a second. "Sure! My name is Yong Soo!"

"Alfred F. Jones," Alfred nodded politely. "Does anyone live here with you?"

"A lot of people," Yong Soo nodded. "But Yao's the only one home."

"Great," Alfred smiled. "Could you take me to him?"

"Why?" Yong Soo tilted his head to the side.

"It's really complicated," Alfred ran a hand through his hair. "And I really don't want to excite anyone in case I'm wrong. Just, please, take me to him."

"But, da-ze told me to leave him alone while he's working…" Yong Soo muttered.

"Please?" Alfred begged. "It's really important and if I don't find this person I won't be able to take it! I just…really need some help…"

"I guess you can talk to him…" Yong Soo sighed and stepped aside to let Alfred in. Alfred looked around the home. It looked like it held a lot of people. Considering all of the doors and the messes of random stuff left everywhere. Eventually, Yong Soo led him to one door and knocked loudly on it. "Da-ze! Someone's here to see you!"

"Aiyah," came a voice from the other side of the door. Alfred shifted uncomfortably, holding the Jack Clock tightly. He checked it one last time to make sure it was pointing at the door before it opened. "I told you not to annoy me today, aru!"

The man in front of Alfred was definitely not what he expected. He had long, brown hair pulled into a pony tail and dark brown eyes. His expression was very irritated, until he laid eyes on Alfred.

"You have a guest, da-ze," Yong Soo chirped.

"Uh…hi," Alfred waved shakily.

"Yes, what do you want, aru?" the man, who Alfred guessed was Yao from what Yong Soo said earlier, asked.

"Are you…familiar with the Clocks of Spades?" Alfred asked.

"Yes," Yao said. "The clocks that find the Royals of Spades, aru."

"Well…" Alfred muttered, looking back down at the Jack Clock. "I've followed the Jack Clock here."

"Yong Soo, please go outside, aru," Yao muttered.

"Okay, da-ze!" Yong Soo said happily and ran out the front door.

"Let me see the clock, aru," Yao stared at Alfred.

"Here," Alfred held the clock out to him. The hour and minute hands were merrily ticking the seconds away, but the second hand stayed glued in the direction of Yao. Yao stared at it for a second before he picked it up. Alfred watched as the hands went to their rightful places and kept regular time.

"In here," Yao muttered and they both walked into the room Yao was just in. Yao quickly closed the door. "Where did you get this, aru?"

"You could say I work at the castle," Alfred said, rubbing the back of his head.

"What does that mean, aru?" Yao glared at him. "I'm not stupid."

"Look, I'm sure you've heard about what's happened to…King Arthur," Alfred said. It had been a day or two and news travelled fast in Spades.

"He's insane, right, aru?" Yao asked.

"He's not freaking insane…" Alfred muttered. "But, yeah, he's in an asylum."

"What does that have to do with anything, aru?" Yao asked.

"I am the last Royal of the three," Alfred said cryptically. It probably wouldn't be smart to tell Yao about that whole Arthur being Queen thing until he was ready. "And I can't do it alone, I don't know how."

"Show me proof, aru," Yao stared at him. "Let me see your clock."

Alfred grabbed the clock from his pocket, but stopped. "No one knows about me, okay?" Yao nodded. "There's also another thing no one else knows." Alfred pulled out the King Clock, showing it to Yao, and steeled himself in case Yao yelled.

"Aiyah…" Yao muttered. Alfred looked at him and he was staring wide-eyed at the clock.

"I can't do this on my own," Alfred said shakily. "I really need help."

"But, I can't leave my family," Yao muttered. "And I know nothing of running a country, aru."

"The Jack is supposed to be smart," Alfred's voice was on the edge of begging now. "I trust you. I know you can help me. Please. W-Without Arthur, I don't know how to do anything! A-And I can't focus with him being tortured in that asylum! I don't know what to do! I just need help! Please?"

"So, King Arthur is really Queen Arthur, aru?" Yao asked.

"Yes," Alfred muttered.

"And you are his King, aru?" Yao asked.

"Yes," Alfred muttered.

"I will help you," Yao smiled slightly.

"Really?" Alfred grew a huge smile. Then he wrapped his new Jack in a huge hug. "Thank you so much! I really can't do this without you!"

"I couldn't really say no, aru," Yao chuckled as Alfred pulled away. "I have a duty, after all."

"Thank you so much!" Alfred beamed.

"I've always heard that the Jack is picked first, aru," Yao muttered. "What happened?"

"Like I know," Alfred shrugged. "I was just a servant two days ago."

"Really, aru?" Yao stared at him in disbelief.

"Yeah," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "I was in charge of making sure that Arthur had his tea in the morning."

"Do you know Arthur well, aru?" Yao asked as he opened the door of the room and allowed Alfred out.

"Um, yeah, kinda," Alfred muttered, blushing slightly. "You could say that we're close."

"I see, aru," Yao smirked slightly.

"So…um…how do you want to get there?" Alfred asked. "The castle, I mean. Because, I only have one horse, and you probably want to say goodbye to your family until they can stay in the castle…"

"You could pick me up tomorrow, aru," Yao said. "Noon would be fine."

"Cool," Alfred smiled as they walked out the front door. They were immediately greeted by Yong Soo.

"So, what'd you talk about, da-ze?" Yong Soo asked excitedly.

"I'll tell you during dinner, aru," Yao took a small step away from Yong Soo.

"I should probably head back," Alfred said and started walking back to his horse. "Thanks again."

"No problem, aru," Yao smiled back at him.

"Hey, why do you do that 'aru' thing?" Alfred asked.

"What 'aru' thing?" Yao asked.

"Never mind," Alfred laughed and started back to his horse. He felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.

Until he thought about Arthur.

* * *

**Voila! Aint' it beautiful? I've finally put Yao in the story. Nine chapters in. It was funny, while I was writing this chapter, I accidentally put an "i" at the end of Yao's name and burst out laughing. I don't know how I never noticed that before, but whatever. We got a small glimpse of Arthur's little torture thing going on and he's still fighting back pretty well! I feel bad, though, because my Plushie Iggy is being tortured right now, too. We're, like, blasting country music in the background for some reason. Poor guy... But he got to listen to Adele earlier, so that makes up for it, right?**

**Anyway, please review! It's really nice and I'll have my Plushie Iggy give you a virtual hug!**

**I don't own Hetalia and I never will.**


	10. Do You Believe?

"Arthur…" Alfred muttered, pacing in the meeting room. "Please still be okay…" He was rubbing his hands together nervously. The carriage left about 2 hours ago to fetch Yao, and Alfred was waiting to meet him in this room. Now, the news of him was spreading fast. He could hear the servants talking about it. There was also a lot of talk about Arthur. Apparently, a lot of them had seen him talking to thin air before.

"I saw him talk to a wall once," a maid had said to another right in front of Alfred.

"I heard he usually goes into the maze to talk to the fairies," the other maid snickered. "Apparently, he even has a pet unicorn."

"Poor thing," the first maid had said with false sympathy.

Alfred couldn't stand people talking about Arthur like that. His Arthur. Alfred swore to God that he would make Ivan pay personally for doing this to him. And if he didn't make it out of there alive, that whole asylum was being torn to the ground.

Alfred ground his teeth as he continued to pace. He was pretty sure he hadn't slept or ate or even sat down since Arthur was dragged away and it was driving him insane. He had tried to do some of the work Arthur would normally have, but he couldn't even focus long enough to read a whole sentence.

"Arthur…" Alfred shook his head. That damned man at the asylum refused to tell Alfred what was happening to Arthur, so that was left to his imagination. And that just made Alfred see red. "Dammit!" Alfred kicked one of the tables in the room as hard as he could. The leg buckled underneath the table, causing the thing to fall over and everything on it to tumble onto the ground. "Shit…" Alfred muttered and stooped down to pick everything up.

"Is everything alright in here, aru?" Yao's voice asked and Alfred immediately stood up.

"Oh, thank God," Alfred ran up to him and hugged with all his might. "I don't think I could have lasted much longer without you."

"You can let go now, aru," Yao muttered.

"Right," Alfred pulled away quickly and awkwardly rubbed his arm.

"What did you do to the table, aru?" Yao asked.

"Uh, I got mad," Alfred rubbed the back of his head.

"Worried about Arthur, aru?" Yao raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Alfred muttered. "I just…can't stop thinking about him. If I find out he got hurt in there…I swear I'll just…"

"You should calm down, aru," Yao put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here to help."

"Thanks," Alfred muttered and the door to the meeting room opened behind them. The second Alfred turned around, he scowled. It was the man from Parliament who pissed off Arthur.

"I heard that the other two Royals were found," the man scoffed. "But I didn't know another kid was chosen."

Alfred narrowed his eyes. He stepped forward, towards the man, but Yao put his arm in his way.

"My name is Yao," he introduced himself. "I am the new Jack, aru."

"So that means our King is a kid who used to be a servant," the man sighed.

"And you can't talk to me that way," Alfred snapped. "I'm your freaking King, dude!"

"An illiterate one," the man chuckled.

Alfred growled, but Yao spoke up first.

"Until the Queen is better," Yao said, "we will take his place, aru. We are still learning the ropes, though."

"So now we have useless Royals that don't know how to do anything," the man rolled his eyes. "Just what we need."

Alfred's eye twitched. "You sound like you actually want me to hit you."

"Forgive my King," Yao sighed. "He's not exactly used to this, aru."

"None of you Royals are," the man sighed. "I am merely here on behalf of Parliament to make sure our cause isn't lost yet. I'm not entirely sure what to tell them."

"Why you little…" Alfred growled but Yao glared at him, making him stop.

"I'm starting to think this country is becoming as insane as its Queen," the man scoffed.

"That's it!" Alfred snapped and barged towards the man. "You can say shit about me, I don't care. You can say shit about what I'm going to do. But if you dare talk like that about Arthur again, I will tear your head off your tiny, little body and rip it in half."

"Of course you would say that, my King," the man glared at him.

"Out," Alfred growled. "I want you out of my sight. I want you out of this castle! Consider yourself fired. I don't give a shit where you go, just make sure I don't see your face again!"

"You can't fire a member of Parliament," the man warned.

Blind with rage, Alfred clenched his teeth and punched right through the closed door behind the man.

"Wanna bet," Alfred glared at him. He tried pulling his hand back, but that wound up with the door pulling off its hinges and onto the ground. Alfred's hand was thoroughly scraped, but he didn't care.

Finally, though, the man got a twinge of terror on his face and quickly departed out of the room.

"I think you over did it, aru," Yao muttered.

"I know," Alfred mumbled. Finally, he felt his hand, which was searing with pain. He brought it close to him and saw several cuts all over it. "I didn't know I had that in me."

"Aiyah, look at your hand," Yao muttered and ran up to him. "Let's help you fix that up, aru."

"Thanks," Alfred chuckled slightly and they walked out of the room.

* * *

"Arthur?"

Arthur kept his eyes closed, damning himself for trying to breathe. He just wanted to curl up and die at this point. He had just been dunked in the boiling hot water, and yet he was still cold. "What?" Arthur snapped.

"What do you think of magic?"

"I don't know," Arthur muttered, narrowly opening his eyes.

"Do you believe in fairies?"

"No," Arthur admitted

"We're making progress," the man muttered excitedly.

Arthur groaned and looked up at him. "What?" Arthur couldn't bring himself to muster up a proper sentence anymore. It had felt like months in this place, maybe years, he didn't know. He just wanted it to end.

"If you keep this up, you may be getting out soon," the man smiled.

Arthur rested his head back down on the cold floor. Well, it was warm compared to how he felt… If all he had to do was say he didn't believe in magic, why didn't he do that in the first place? It's not like it mattered, magic didn't exist. Why was he so stubborn?

"Send him to his room, he deserves a good rest."

And so Arthur was dragged back to his room, his arm shackled to the bed, and he was left to slip into that black abyss known as sleep once again.

* * *

Alfred and Yao sat in a new room, one with three desks. Alfred supposed it was the normal place for the Royals to work when there were three of them. Alfred couldn't help but mess with the gauze that was wrapped around his hand for his wound. He stared at the large pile of papers in front of him that he was supposed to be working on. The only sound in the room was Yao's pen scratching against the desk as he was writing and signing things.

"Is it bad that I can't stop thinking about Arthur?" Alfred asked.

"Not at all, aru," Yao said.

"What if he dies in there?" Alfred's voice wavered. "And I couldn't do anything to help him."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, aru," Yao assured him.

"But I'm supposed to be a hero," Alfred muttered. "What kind of a King am I if I can't help my Queen when he needs it the most? I just feel useless…"

"You can help by doing your job, aru," Yao stated.

"But I can't focus," Alfred muttered. "What if they're hurting him? God… I'm so useless! I'm just sitting here, complaining about it! I can't do anything!"

"Alfred," Yao snapped and Alfred's attention immediately went to him. "You are the King of Spades. Whether Arthur is here or not, you need to do your job, aru. I know you are worried, but if you can't do anything, you should focus on what you can do."

"Yeah, you're right," Alfred turned his attention back to the pile of work. He took a deep breath and picked up a piece of paper.

* * *

Arthur was woken up by his arm being unshackled. He opened his eyes and felt oddly well-rested when he was forced off the bed and out of the room. He let himself get dragged, he was far too weak to try and walk. He didn't have to look to know that he was brought into the room with the tubs.

When they let go of him, he let himself drop onto the floor, onto his hands and knees. He prepared himself to get dunked in the water and he wondered which tub would be first today…

"Arthur, tell me what you think about magic and fairies," the man said.

"What?" Arthur looked up at him, confused slightly.

"You've been given a proper rest, about 6 hours," the man stated. "You're thinking a tad clearer than last time, so tell me what you think."

"A-About what?" Arthur asked.

"Magic, and fairies."

"Th-they don't exist," Arthur muttered. "I told you that last time."

"Say it again."

"I don't believe in fairies," Arthur said, louder. "And I don't believe in magic. Neither exist."

"Wonderful," the man nodded. "Take him back to his room."

"That's it?" Arthur asked as the people picked him up.

"You can go home now and do your job, my Queen," the man nodded towards him as he left the room. But Arthur couldn't remember he said it. He was asleep before they came out of the door.

* * *

Alfred nearly fell asleep at the desk he was at. He was staring at the papers for so long that they all looked the same. He had a whole new found respect for what Arthur had been doing this past week. He had a new stack of papers every day, but he had somehow completed it. Alfred really wanted to know how, to be honest.

He couldn't even get through half of his own pile.

"Yao, I'm bored," Alfred leaned back in his chair.

"I know," Yao muttered. "You've said that a lot, aru."

"Yeah, but it's not getting better," Alfred grumbled. "How did Arthur even do this in the first place?"

"There have been a lot of Jacks who had to do it alone for decades, aru," Yao stated.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck," Alfred sighed.

"My King," the doors to the room flew open and a servant ran in, right up to Alfred's desk.

"Uh, yeah?" Alfred asked. He still wasn't used to having people that used to be his friends and fellow servants bow to him and call him things like that.

"I just got a notice," the servant panted. He had obviously been running just previously. "Queen Arthur's been cleared to leave the asylum."

"I'm going," Alfred immediately stood up and ran out the door. He didn't even care that Yao yelled after him. Arthur was going to be safe if it killed him.

"I've prepared a carriage, sire," the servant said, running next to him.

"Thank you," Alfred nodded towards him, smiling.

* * *

**I don't like this chapter. I feel like it skips around too much, but if I were to cut it in half, you would get two short chapters and that wouldn't be good and stuff... Anyway, it's kind of funny. When I had first uploaded this story, I had everything up to the next chapter written and I've only written two chapters since then. I blame school and stuff, to be honest. But, I've actually started writing a little bit. So that's a good sign.**

**Anywho... please review! It's oober nice and stuff...**

**I don't own Hetalia and I never will. It's getting really tiring having to repeatedly do this...**


	11. Safe For Now

"Arthur…"

"I don't…" Arthur hardly opened his eyes. "Believe in…magic…"

"Arthur?"

Arthur opened his eyes a little bit more to try and see clearly. He wasn't in the room with the tubs. He was in the room with the bed, his arm attached to the bed post. He blinked a little more to focus his sight, and he saw a familiar face in the doorway. He had to blink a few more times in order to make sure he saw what he saw correctly.

"A-Al…fred?"

"Oh, my God…" the figure ran up to him and hugged him, even though he was lying down. To be honest, it hurt. Arthur winced, but he couldn't bring himself to make a noise. "Hold on," Alfred's voice said as they separated. "I'll get you out."

"I-I can leave?" Arthur asked. He felt his arm get unlocked and Alfred lifted him so that he was sitting upright and hugged him again. Arthur was too exhausted to even try to keep his head upright.

"Yeah, you can leave," Alfred said happily. "God, I'm so happy you aren't dead."

"M-Me, too, I guess…" Arthur muttered.

"Come on," Alfred stood up and helped Arthur to his feet. Arthur was barely able to stand correctly. They started walking and Arthur had to watch his feet to make sure they were moving correctly. He hadn't walked in so long, it felt weird. He was practically leaning all his weight on Alfred to do it right.

"H-how long…?" Arthur tried to focus, but walking took too much of his attention away.

"Five days," Alfred said, a little sadly. "Some stuff has happened while you were gone."

"Right…" Arthur blinked. He didn't know where he was going and his feet were tripping over themselves.

"Are you…okay?" Alfred asked.

"No," Arthur shook his head. Alfred stopped and Arthur noticed that it was oddly dark where they were. "Th-th-this is a…a dream…right?"

"No…" Alfred gave him a soft smile. "This is real, I promise."

"I'm not…insane anymore?" Arthur asked. A door opened in front of him and he was moved inside. He sat on a soft cushion, softer than his bed, anyway, and Alfred sat down next to him.

"You were never insane," Alfred brushed some of the hair out of Arthur's face.

"Thank you," Arthur muttered. He let himself fall over to the side, his head falling on Alfred's lap. He curled up into himself. It was warm in here. Alfred was warm. "Where are we?"

"A carriage," Alfred informed.

"Lovely," Arthur muttered and his eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

"Wake up," Alfred's voice said kindly. Arthur slowly opened his eyes and he was still in the same spot as he was when he fell asleep. So it wasn't a dream…

"We stopped?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," Alfred said. "We're home, at the castle."

"Lovely," Arthur muttered and he tried to sit up, but he couldn't do that. Eventually, Alfred helped him up and he leaned against the door of the carriage.

"Do...do you want me to carry you in or something?" Alfred asked tentatively.

"No," Arthur shook his head. "I-I'm the Queen...I can walk."

"Are you sure?" Alfred asked.

"Of course I'm-" Arthur tried to stand, but he didn't even go an inch off his seat before he fell back down. "Why..."

"You're just tired," Alfred said reassuringly, patting his shoulder. "I think I really should carry you in."

"No..." Arthur shook his head again. "I...I have...pride..."

"Of course you do," Alfred sighed. "I'll be right back, I got an idea," Alfred said and then he disappeared from the carriage. Arthur sat there, alone, for a second, before he came back in and Arthur felt the carriage moving.

"Where...?"

"The back," Alfred stated. "So, I can carry you in and no one will see. I really don't want you to overwork yourself just as you got back."

"Thank you," Arthur smiled slightly and leaned on Alfred's shoulder. He was so comfortable...

"No problem," Alfred said kindly. Before long, they stopped moving again. "Stay there, I'll just go around the other side to pick you up, okay?" Arthur nodded and Alfred disappeared again. He soon popped up around on the other side and quickly, yet calmly, picked Arthur up by his back and the crook of his knees. When they got outside, it was still dark and Arthur shivered. It was cold.

Alfred walked calmly for a while, or it seemed like a while to Arthur, he had forgotten how to keep track of time by now... But they eventually went through another set of doors and Arthur looked around. It was lit by candles, made of stone... It looked familiar...kind of like home...

"Lucky for you, I know where your room is from here," Alfred laughed slightly and Arthur smiled.

"Very lucky," Arthur nodded slightly. "Thank you."

"No problem," Alfred smiled down at him. They walked for a while in more or less silence. It was weird, Arthur didn't remember Alfred wanting to keep quiet very often...

"Alfred? You're back, aru?" an unfamiliar voice asked, but Arthur didn't try to look at him. "Aiyah... Arthur?"

"Wh-who are you?" Arthur finally turned his head to look at him, but he didn't really look very hard. He didn't care quite enough...

"I am Yao," the man said politely. "I am your Jack, aru."

"Right, then," Arthur nodded. "Jack?"

"Yeah, I found him," Alfred said. "I couldn't really do my job as King without help, so I used his clock to find him."

"King?" Arthur looked back to Alfred. "...Right... Forgot..."

"He looks ter-" Yao started, but Alfred stopped him.

"I'm gonna get you some sleep," Alfred said and quickly stepped past the new Jack and they continued their way down the hall. Arthur stared absentmindedly at Alfred the whole way.

"Thank you, love," Arthur muttered randomly after a while.

"L-Love?" Alfred glanced back down at him. "Since when do you call me Love?"

"I've wanted to..." Arthur stated. "For a while..."

"Why?" Alfred asked and Arthur laughed slightly. Even with his sleep deprived mind, he thought he was being obvious.

"And here I thought it was obvious," Arthur muttered. With all the strength he could muster, he leaned forward slightly and moved his hand to touch Alfred's face. And he placed a small kiss on Alfred's lips before he leaned back down.

"O-Oh..." Alfred muttered and then let a small chuckle out. "Right..."

"Sh-should have told you s-sooner..." Arthur shook his head.

"No," Alfred smiled. "You're timing's pretty good. To be honest, the last I saw you, I wanted to tell you the same thing."

Arthur smiled softly. He knew that, under normal circumstances, he would be blushing like an idiot. But he was just so cold, he was pretty sure that there wasn't enough warmth left to make his cheeks red.

Soon, they came up to a new door and Alfred opened it, leading them to go into a new, darker room. An insect came up to Arthur's ear, making a shocking racket. So Arthur swatted it away. It didn't go away, though. For some reason, he couldn't see it… He frowned when it went to his other ear.

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked.

"Bug…" Arthur muttered and the buzzing immediately stopped. The insect finally let him alone for some reason.

"Here, I'll set you down for a sec so I can move your sheets," Alfred said. Arthur felt himself get set down on something really soft. He waited there, not trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. He was just so cold and tired… The insect came back, with a few others buzzing around Arthur irritably.

Soon, Alfred picked him up again and he was carefully set back down on the soft surface, on his back this time. Something really warm was set over him and he immediately clung to it, as if for dear life.

"Okay," Alfred lightly rubbed his head, moving his hair around slightly. "I want you to rest until you feel 100 percent again, got it?" Arthur nodded. "Please don't try to get up when you think you're all better. I want to make sure you're okay."

"Alfred," Arthur muttered. "I understand."

"Good," Alfred sighed. And then Arthur felt a pair of lips carefully rest on his forehead for a second before disappearing. "I'll visit in the morning, promise."

"Okay…" Arthur curled up more into the sheets of his bed. He heard the door close and the insects were buzzing louder, but that was easy to ignore as sleep was about to overtake him.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, though, Arthur let out a horrible, body wracking cough. The whole thing made Arthur's stomach hurt and he winced at the pain of it.

He blamed it on the water treatment before he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Alfred silently closed the door to Arthur's room, feeling slightly guilty for leaving him alone, but he did have to sleep…

"Aiyah…poor Arthur, aru," Yao muttered behind him.

"I…I didn't expect him to be this bad…" Alfred muttered, looking down at the ground. He leaned against Arthur's door, letting out a sigh. "Wh-when I heard that he would be let out…I just figured…he'd be fine…"

"That's not how it works, aru," Yao sighed. "I've read on asylums…"

"What the hell do they do?" Alfred demanded, looking up at Yao.

"Not good things, I'm afraid," Yao shook his head. "I'm sure Arthur is just weak, aru."

"He's gonna be okay, though, right?" Alfred asked.

"When he wakes up…probably, aru," Yao muttered.

"I heard Arthur is back!" a voice said hurriedly and Alfred saw someone race around the corner and immediately grabbed hold of Alfred's arms, staring determinately in his eyes. It was Francis.

"Uh…yeah…" Alfred mumbled. "But, he's sleeping. You can't see him."

"Mon dieu…" Francis let go and turned to facing the ground.

"I-I thought you left with the other Kings, Queens, and Jacks," Alfred said.

"When I heard about Arthur's predicament, I had to stay," Francis sighed. "He is going to be alright, right?"

"Um…" Alfred didn't know how to answer that.

"Most likely, aru," Yao cut in.

"You are the new Jack, non?" Francis asked.

"Jack Yao," Yao nodded.

Alfred leaned against the door again, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He honestly didn't know what to do anymore… If Arthur didn't turn out to be okay…

"Alfred!" Alfred was jerked out of his thoughts by Francis waving a hand in front of his face.

"Huh?" Alfred managed out.

"You are worried about him, non?" Francis asked, chuckling slightly.

Alfred didn't trust his voice enough to speak, so he just closed his eyes tightly and hung his head. He could feel himself shaking. He had never felt this way before. So…helpless… He couldn't do anything to help, all he could do was wait. He was never good at that…

"You really do love him, don't you…?" Francis muttered. Alfred shakily nodded.

"Arthur has been his only thought since they took him away, aru," Yao said.

"You really are the King of Spades," Francis mused.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Alfred muttered, finally looking up.

"You will understand soon enough," Francis patted his head and started walking off. "Now, do tell me when I can see mon cher again."

"Right…" Alfred mumbled as he watched the King of Diamonds walk off.

"If we are done here," Yao stated. "Arthur's family is here. We should probably talk with them, aru."

"Right, sounds good," Alfred rubbed the back of his head and followed Yao to Arthur's family.

* * *

**And Arthur's back! Yay! Alfred got to sort of be his hero! And, if anyone didn't catch it, the insect flying around Arthur's head was Ella. Earlier in the story, I had Francis think Ella was a bug because he couldn't see her but she was still nearby. So, yeah, a little bit of sad explanation for you... Anyway, the important thing is that Arthur is safe...Or is he...?**

**Um, review, please! It's awesome and I'll love you forever!**

**I don't own Hetalia and I never will**


	12. Visitors For The Queen

"Arthur," a soft voice muttered and Arthur slowly opened his eyes. For some reason, he expected to wake up in that damned asylum. But he found the familiar look of his room… It felt like forever since he had seen it… And then there was Alfred, who was standing in front of him, smiling kindly. "You sleep okay?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes," Arthur muttered and curled more into the warm sheets on his bed. He was still cold…

"I…uh…I brought food," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "Yao said that I should just give you a little, since you probably didn't eat much back there. Did you eat there?"

Arthur shook his head.

"Did they at least give you water?" Alfred asked.

"Plenty," Arthur muttered irritably. He wasn't in the mood to talk about it, though…Not now.

"Do you think you can sit up? To eat?" Alfred asked.

Arthur nodded. The insects came back, buzzing all around his head, but Arthur was starting to easily ignore them. He moved to sit up, but something hitched in him, making him stop. He let out two of those body wracking coughs, hurting his whole body, and dropped back onto the bed. He clutched his stomach, the part that hurt the worst from the coughing.

"Oh, my God, are you okay?" Alfred asked, obviously worried, and he even placed a hand gingerly on Arthur's shoulder.

"Fine, love," Arthur winced. As if in defiance, though, he let out another cough and he had to suck in a deep breath to make sure he could breathe afterwards.

"That doesn't sound good…" Alfred muttered, rubbing his arm.

"I don't know what it is…" Arthur sighed, frowning.

"You…uh…still in the mood for food?" Alfred asked.

"You're not going to feed me, are you?" Arthur asked.

"Well, you can't sit upright…" Alfred muttered.

"What kind of food is it?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Soup," Alfred stated.

Arthur sighed. Food really did sound amazing at that point, and it was just them two in the room… "As long as no one hears about you feeding me."

"No problem," Alfred nodded and turned away for a second, turning back with a bowl in his hands. He knelt down in front of the bed.

"I really don't like the idea of this," Arthur shook his head, but coughed again. He curled into himself more, wincing.

"But you need to eat," Alfred said softly.

"Yes, but…" Arthur trailed off.

"Hey, if you don't want to…I guess you don't have to…" Alfred mumbled.

"N-No," Arthur muttered and felt his stomach rumble. "I just…"

"Pride issues?" Alfred smiled. "It's no problem. If you want to wait until you can sit up, that's fine with me."

Arthur was about to say something, but the two heard a knock at the door. Alfred glanced down at Arthur, who nodded his head, and then called back, "Come in."

Arthur watched the door carefully, expecting Francis to appear, but it was that man from before…That Jack…

"Hey, Yao," Alfred said.

"I just wanted to check on Arthur myself, aru," Yao said and Arthur furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the last word. What did it mean?

"I-I'm fine," Arthur muttered, but a cough chose that moment to cut into the conversation, making Arthur wince at the pain.

"Aiyah, you don't sound okay," Yao stated.

"He's been doing that since he woke up," Alfred said uneasily.

"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose," Arthur grumbled.

"Has he eaten yet, aru?" Yao asked.

"Um, working on it," Alfred chuckled slightly.

Arthur yawned. "Could I get back to the food after I'm done sleeping?"

"Sure," Alfred nodded.

"As long as you eat eventually, aru," Yao stated.

"I-I will…" Arthur muttered and closed his eyes. His eyelids were already heavy anyway…

Before he slipped into unconsciousness, though, he heard the two talking.

"A-Are you sure he's gonna be okay? What about the cough?"

"There's no way to tell, aru."

"I feel so stupid and helpless…"

* * *

"You shouldn't be in his room until he's well again."

"I can see mon cher when I feel I can."

"You are in my country, I make the rules."

"Too bad."

Arthur gingerly opened his eyes. He still expected to wake up in the asylum, but smiled slightly when he caught sight of Alfred. He was still safe in his room… That was good. And then he saw a flash of blonde hair.

"What the…bloody hell is Francis doing in my room?" Arthur muttered and both Alfred and the unwanted intruder, Francis, looked towards him.

"Mon dieu! He looks so pale," Francis immediately rushed next to Arthur, who just blinked at him.

"What are you doing in my room?" Arthur asked again.

"He just barged in," Alfred grumbled. "I told him it wasn't a good idea."

"I am Arthur's only friend," Francis said proudly.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was three more of those horrible coughs. Each one felt like it was getting worse and worse. He cringed into himself every time. But he also noticed Francis backed away immediately.

"Arthur…" Alfred muttered.

"That's the cough?" Francis asked.

"Yes," Arthur said bluntly. "Francis, please leave."

"Porquoi?" Francis asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I can't move," Arthur stated, "I'm sick, I'm cold, and I'm hungry. Please don't make me irritated, too."

"C'est sévère…" Francis muttered.

"Well, you heard what he said," Alfred rushed up to him. "You gotta leave."

"But…" Francis pouted. "I just came to check on mon ami."

"And I appreciate it…" Arthur muttered. "But it's not necessary right now."

"Fine," Francis put his hands up in surrender. "I will leave if you don't want me here."

Arthur sighed and closed his eyes again. He let out one cough before going to sleep.

* * *

"Bloody hell."

"Please be quiet. He's sleeping."

"How the hell did you let this happen? You're the bleeding King for Christ's sake!"

"I couldn't control anything. And remember what I said, he's sleeping."

"Not anymore…" Arthur grumbled, opening his eyes slightly. Every time he woke up, for some reason, he felt weaker and weaker. Immediately, though, someone's face rushed into his vision. This face was completely unexpected, though. Unlike Francis, who Arthur knew would be coming eventually. This was the fiery red hair and the angry green eyes of his eldest brother. "Scott?"

"You look horrible, kid," Scott frowned. But Arthur could still see a small trace of concern on his face. Something Arthur had never seen before from him.

"Thanks," Arthur muttered sarcastically. And then he went into a coughing fit with that one, horrible cough. He coughed at least 10 times before he stopped. "Bloody hell," Arthur rubbed his throat.

"You gonna live?" Scott raised an eyebrow.

"You're not very reassuring," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry all these people keep barging in," Alfred muttered.

"Oi," Scott snapped at him. "I'm his brother, I can see him whenever the hell I want."

"Don't fight…" Arthur muttered and coughed again.

"I just came to check on ya," Scott rolled his eyes, bringing his attention back to Arthur. "Mum's worried and all that shit."

"And they sent you of all people why?" Arthur asked.

"I felt bad for saying something at home," Scott muttered begrudgingly. "A lot of things, actually…"

"What did you say about me this time?" Arthur asked bluntly.

"Nothing that matters," Scott sighed. "Anyway, now that I know you're alive and still sane, if not more, I'm gonna be going."

"Nice seeing you, too, Scott," Arthur chuckled slightly. But then he started on another coughing fit and didn't stop until after he heard his door close.

"You should sleep a little more, see if that cough'll get better," Alfred muttered.

"Fine," Arthur coughed a little. But he was starting to feel like the sleeping was the problem.

* * *

Arthur woke up again to the small clatter of things being moved on his desk. He slowly opened his eyes and mentally sighed with relief when he saw that there was just one person in his room, Alfred. It looked like he was organizing things on his desk.

"Alfred?" Arthur asked, getting the attention of the man in front of him. But the guy that turned around wasn't exactly Alfred. He looked enough like him, but his eyes and face were softer and he had a curl coming from the top of his head, not a cowlick.

"I-I'm not Alfred," the man muttered. It seemed like he was almost whispering. "He had to sleep, so he has me watching over you. I'm Mathew, his twin brother."

"So I do get to finally meet you," Arthur chuckled slightly before he went into another coughing fit. When he finally ended, his throat felt raw and his stomach felt like it was on fire.

"He was right, that is bad," Mathew muttered to himself. "D-Do you need me to get you anything? Like water, tea, or food?"

"No," Arthur croaked, shaking his head. "I-I'll be fine, I'm not quite hungry."

"If you're sure," Mathew nodded.

"Thank you," Arthur nodded. He yawned, but it was cut off part way through with another coughing fit. He felt his eyelids getting heavy. "Y-you said Alfred had to sleep?"

"He's been in this room 24/7 since you got back," Mathew smiled softly. "Apparently I'm the only one he trusted enough to watch you."

"I see," Arthur felt his eyelids droop. "Tell him I said hello, then."

Arthur closed his eyes.

* * *

Alfred walked as quickly as he could back to Arthur's room. He was still pissed at the people who told him he needed to sleep. He couldn't even sleep in the first place… He knew he looked horrible for not sleeping in days, and maybe only eating once or twice. But he couldn't do anything about it. He had to make sure Arthur was okay.

When he walked into Arthur's room, Mathew was just sitting in the chair at Arthur's desk, staring out the window. Arthur was still sound asleep.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Mathew raised an eyebrow, turning towards him.

"I can't…" Alfred muttered and leaned against the door. He looked at Arthur again and noticed that his breathing was getting labored. "He's getting worse every time he wakes up."

"He had a few coughing fits when he woke up last time," Mathew muttered sadly.

"He woke up again?" Alfred asked.

"Not for very long," Mathew shrugged. "He told me to tell you hello."

"Did he do anything else?" Alfred asked. "Was there anything else wrong with him other than that cough?"

"His voice was going," Mathew muttered. "I think he's lost his voice."

"I feel so useless," Alfred muttered. "I can't do anything and he's practically dying in front of me!"

"He'll be fine," Mathew got up and placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "As long as he has you taking care of him, I know he'll be okay."

"Thanks, Matt," Alfred moved away from the door and Mathew left.

Alfred let out a sigh and dragged the chair from the desk a little closer to Arthur and sat down in it. Despite all that was happening, Arthur's face was calm, like he was peacefully sleeping. Alfred really wanted to know what happened in that asylum, but that could wait until Arthur got better.

_If he got better…_

Alfred shook his head, banishing that thought. Arthur was going to be okay. He would be fine and nothing bad will ever happen to him again. Alfred would die before any of that happened to him. Arthur was going to be okay…

Alfred was distracted out of his thoughts, though, by what looked like a little ball of light near Arthur's head, but it was moving towards him. Alfred could soon see several little balls of light all around Arthur. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as that first ball of light stopped a few inches from his face. In a second, it transformed into a little woman with brown hair and a pink dress. And…wings?

* * *

**Yeah, this chapter skips around a lot, too... But it fits this time because it's just Arthur coming in and out of his little sleep coma thing. And what did I do at the end there? Is that a cliffhanger? Only slightly, but whatever... You know, a lot's been going on with school and stuff so I still haven't been doing much writing. I have until chapter 14 written. Which is sad because I was 11 chapters ahead when I started this thing. But, if I can't update everyday, I will give you guys a warning, I promise.**

**Pleae review! It might actually get me to get off my lazy ass and start writing...**

**I don't own Hetalia and you know the rest...**


	13. Maybe I'm Crazy

"Arthur's going to be okay, right?" the little woman asked.

"H-Holy shit!" Alfred freaked out, which wound up slamming him onto the floor on his back.

"So I was right!" the woman chirped excitedly and flew right in Alfred's face. Alfred didn't know what to do so he just gaped at her. "You have to help Arthur."

"Who…what…?" Alfred managed out. The woman was flying around near his face. "You?"

"Hey, listen," The woman rolled her eyes. "My name is Ella. I am Arthur's guardian fairy. And you have to help him! He can't see me anymore…" She was starting to cry.

"What?" Alfred gaped. "I-I'm seeing fairies now?" Maybe he was starting to go insane himself from all of this.

"Please don't focus on that now, I'm probably running out of time," Ella muttered. "Please just help him. He-he's gonna die if you don't help him and he won't listen to me!"

"What?" Alfred sat upright. "What did you say?"

"He'll die," said a deeper, male voice. Alfred looked around for the source, he didn't know that voice, but at the same time it seemed oddly familiar. Out of nowhere, a puff of smoke emerged and then two people. There was a man with white hair and red eyes, and a little kid with blue eyes and sandy colored hair. The kid immediately ran to Arthur's side and Alfred saw that the other balls of light had turned into other people with wings. Other fairies.

"Wake up, jerk!" the kid yelled, but Arthur didn't stir. The kid tried to push Arthur, but it looked like his hands went right through him. "Come on! Wake up and call me a wanker again!"

"I'm going insane," Alfred shook his head.

"Kid, I want you to listen to me," the man with the white hair stated. "My name is Gilbert and I'm a Joker. We're all using a shit ton of magic right now just so you can see us. That's only because we need your help."

Alfred blinked a few times. "I'm surrounded by things that don't exist…"

"Look," Gilbert sighed and disappeared in a puff of smoke and appeared in another puff right in front of Alfred's face. But he was upside down.

"Holy shit!" Alfred yelled. And backed up. "G-g-ghost!"

Gilbert righted himself. "Look," Gilbert roughly grabbed onto Alfred's shirt. "Ghosts can't touch ya. I can." In a surprising motion, Gilbert smacked Alfred in the face with his palm. "Now shut the hell up and listen to what I have to say. Got it?"

"Sure," Alfred muttered.

"In that asylum, Arthur admitted that he didn't believe in magic or fairies," Gilbert stated. "He's had a link to magic his whole life. Not like the link you have as a kid when you can see them. This is stronger. Him admitting he didn't believe snapped that connection. Normal people can live through that. But that magic he relied on is completely gone. You can consider that his life support. Without it, he's going to die. Do you understand?"

"Sorta," Alfred mumbled.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "You have a little bit of magic still in you for some reason. That's why, with enough magic, you can see us. That's how we're talking. We're running out of time and magic, so I need you to understand. Without that magic connection, Arthur is going to die by the end of the day."

"No," Alfred shook his head. "No, he can't die. He just…I just…"

"You're the only one in this room he can see and hear," Gilbert said. "The only reason he hasn't woken up with your screaming is because he doesn't have enough energy to wake up. I need you to get him to believe in magic again or he will die. I don't care what you believe or don't believe. It only matters what he does."

"So, that cough and everything," Alfred muttered. "That's because he doesn't believe in fairies?"

"That's the progress we just made?" Gilbert snapped and stood up. He was starting to fade blurrily from Alfred's vision. "I'm out of time. You get him to believe by the time the sun goes down or you won't see your true love again."

"What do you mean-" Alfred was cut off by a puff of smoke making Gilbert and that kid disappear. Alfred shakily looked back at Arthur and all of the fairies around him. They were all starting to blur, too. They all slowly disappeared, until that first one, Ella, was just there, next to Arthur's head.

Alfred could hear her say, "You're going to be okay. Alfred'll be your hero." Alfred saw her kiss his cheek and disappeared.

"Magic," Alfred muttered. "That's a new one…" He scrambled up to his feet, his legs shaking a little bit, and looked out the window. It was nearly sunset. "Oh, shit…"

Alfred could feel himself shaking. He didn't know what to do. That…that Joker person told him he had until sundown to make Arthur believe in something Alfred didn't think existed in the first place. How would he get Arthur to believe in magic in the first place? Alfred had never had to do anything like this before. He had no idea what to do. What to say…

In the silence of the room, Alfred could hear the ticking of the Queen's clock and the King's clock. That was his idea. He quickly snatched up the two clocks and went over to Arthur. He shakily placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder and shook him slightly.

"Arthur?" Alfred asked tentatively. There was no response but Arthur's labored breathing. Alfred didn't know if he should believe what the Joker said, but from what the legends said about the Jokers, he had to trust what they said. He shook Arthur a little harder. "Arthur."

No response.

Alfred sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. He shook Arthur roughly. "Arthur!"

Finally, Arthur slowly opened his eyes slightly. "Yes?" he asked, his voice smaller than Mathew's. Alfred felt his heart break just seeing Arthur like this in front of him.

"Is it true that you don't believe in magic anymore?" Alfred asked, trying very hard to make sure his voice didn't crack.

"Why would I?" Arthur asked and let out another one of those horrible coughs. Even Alfred winced as he saw Arthur wince and curl up even more into himself. He looked so pale and his eyes were getting dull.

"Y-You gotta believe," Alfred muttered. Arthur was about to say something, but Alfred cut him off. "Trust me. You just do, okay? I don't care what that damn asylum made you think. It's not like my Arthur to just do what he's told."

"But…magic is just-" Arthur was cut off by another coughing fit. Alfred could feel his stomach coil into knots with every cough.

"What about what you told me about the clocks?" Alfred asked once he finished and Arthur just looked at him. Alfred showed him the clocks. "These. When you first showed them to me, you told me it was magic. That's why the hands act all weird when the right Royal isn't touching it, but they keep perfect time when they are. That's how they can tell exactly where the next Royal is, by pointing a hand at it."

"Clocks…" Arthur croaked.

Alfred sighed, thinking of another idea. But he couldn't believe he was about to sound so corny. "And what about what's in between us? I love you. I've been worried sick since you even left the castle for that Hell. Love has its own magic to it. What I feel isn't normal. It's… it's magical."

"Alfred…" Arthur muttered.

"Everyone's worried about you," Alfred shook his head, holding onto the clocks tightly. "Not just people, but those Jokers. And…" Alfred wracked his brain to remember the name of that fairy. "And…Ella, too."

"Ella," Arthur blinked.

* * *

Through all of the weakness Arthur could feel, he felt something inside him. Everything Alfred had just said. Arthur shouldn't think it made sense. Magic didn't… He couldn't bring himself to think that for some reason.

The clocks, Arthur remembered explaining it to Alfred as magic. There really was no other explanation for their behavior.

And Arthur did love Alfred back. The way Alfred just described it, though, it was magical.

At the word "Jokers," Arthur forgot his weakness. For some reason, he didn't feel like he couldn't move anymore. When he heard Ella's name, though, that's what did it. He felt something wash over him and he didn't feel weak anymore. For a second, he could have sworn he saw a familiar face of a woman before massive amounts of pain wracked his entire body.

He curled even more into himself, bringing his hands to his head, and let out a yell of pain. He felt a massive amount of pain go to his head, but some to his heart, too. He couldn't even bring himself to open his eyes, he was in so much pain. He blacked out before it got too bad, though.

But he could still hear two voices calling out his name.

Alfred and…

Ella?

* * *

Alfred watched in horror as Arthur yelled in front of him. He didn't know what to do or what he could do in the first place. He almost went to gently pat Arthur's shoulder, but retreated. Arthur looked like he was about to rip the hair out of his head and his eyes were clenched shut as he curled into a ball.

And then he just went limp.

"Arthur?" now Alfred grabbed onto his shoulder, but nothing happened. He shook him roughly. "Arthur!" he just moved around like a rag doll. "Arthur, wake up, dammit!" Alfred felt tears pool in his eyes. Was it because of what he did? What if he really died?

"Is everything okay, aru?" Yao rushed into the room. "I heard him scream."

"I-I don't know," Alfred muttered shakily. He could even see his hands shaking furiously. "I really don't know."

"Check if he's breathing, aru," Yao said hurriedly and stepped further into the room.

Alfred immediately kneeled down next to Arthur and put his ear near Arthur's mouth to try to listen. He could feel small, rhythmical puffs of cool air. They were small, but they were definitely there.

"He's breathing," Alfred sighed with relief.

"Now check his heartbeat, see if it's normal," Yao said. "If I need to, I can get a doctor, aru."

"I-I'll check," Alfred's hands were still shaking as he moved Arthur so he was on his back and he pressed his ear to Arthur's chest, where his heart should be. It was beating a good, rhythmical tune and was beating nearly as strong as Alfred's own, which he could feel in his head through the stress. "He's okay there…"

"His skin seems healthier, aru," Yao muttered as Alfred sat back upright. Alfred did have to admit that he wasn't as pale anymore. Slowly, his chest started rising and falling with his breaths as they became stronger.

"Thank you, Jokers," Alfred sighed, face planting on the bed next to Arthur. "Thank you so much…" He felt about ready to cry with relief.

"What?" Yao asked.

"Nothing," Alfred stood up quickly. "He's gonna be okay… He's going to be just fine…"

"You're sure?" Yao asked.

"Totally," Alfred nodded. "I'm positive."

"Then maybe we should give him room to finish resting," Yao muttered, moving towards the still open door.

"Sure," Alfred said. He felt so relieved knowing that Arthur was definitely going to be okay. "Hey, do you think we have any books in the library about Jokers?"

"Yeah," Yao nodded. "Why?"

"I just think it'll be a little interesting to learn about them," Alfred said and started off towards the hallway with the library.

"Wait!" Yao called after him. "You have work, aru!"

"That can wait until later," Alfred called back and started running for the library.

* * *

**Now Arthur's okay. I promise. Nothing else bad will happen to him...for a few more chapters, anyway... On the bright side, my Plushie Iggy is still perfectly fine, if not a little deaf from the country music. And if anyone caught my Legend of Zelda reference, you get a big hug from my plushie.**

**Please Review**

**And I don't own Hetalia and never will because I'm not cool like that**


	14. Thinking Outside The Box

"Arthur still hasn't woken up, aru," Yao muttered as he came into the library, in which Alfred had already been sitting for hours, reading. Contrary to popular belief, he could read and did it rather well. He'd gone through 5 pretty large books. 2 or 3 about the Jokers and the rest about the Queens of Spades. There were whole series on those girls…

"Yeah?" Alfred muttered.

"You've been reading the whole time in here, aru?" Yao asked.

"Yeah," Alfred turned around quickly. "It's weird that I haven't been looking at things like this before. But ever since I saw those Jokers I figured that I should look them up, see if they were like fakes or something. But they aren't! It's really weird seeing people you've actually met in pictures painted about a hundred or two years ago!"

"Jokers?" Yao asked, walking over to his book.

"That's kinda how I knew how to fix Arthur," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "That's what they told me, at least. Did you know that all of the Queens of Spades have had a powerful magic connection?"

"I didn't know magic really existed, aru," Yao sighed, leaning against the table.

"Me neither," Alfred shrugged. "But it's what saved Arthur's life. All of the Queens are so deeply connected to magic and stuff that if that connection is severed, they'll probably die. It's weird, though. In the past, the Queens were all open about magic. But now, they've all kept it secret. From what I can tell, Arthur's the most open about it for the past hundred years…"

"So you have been studying, aru," Yao looked at the stack of books.

"But, don't you think it's weird?" Alfred asked, looking at Yao's eyes. "All of those years ago, it was considered cool to see fairies when no one else could. It was considered cool because they could cast spells and all that shit, right? The Queens are in charge of the army and wars and all of that. They would go across the battlefield and cast fire spells and all of that. But now, none of them even try to acknowledge their magic connection. I mean, they don't deny it or they would die. But it's almost like the connection should have disappeared but it didn't really…"

"They're just scared of being judged, aru," Yao shrugged, standing up. "Have you read about the 16th Queen of Spades?"

"Not yet," Alfred shook his head.

"She was made a laughing stock when she was talking about fairies," Yao stated. "The one after that just didn't want that embarrassment, so she started hiding it, aru. Everyone after that was scared of coming out. Arthur was, too. That's why he tried to keep it secret. Look where acknowledgment got him, aru."

"But…" Alfred sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I just don't understand what's so bad about it. Even the King has a little bit of magic inside of him. That's how I was able to see the Joker and those fairies, but only because they put effort behind it. I just really wish I could see Arthur's guardian fairy again… Did you know, all of the Queens have a guardian fairy?"

"I will just leave you to your studying, aru," Yao sighed as he started back towards the door. "I will tell you if Arthur wakes up while you're in here."

"Sweet," Alfred called back and turned to another page in his book. But he couldn't get the idea of the whole magic thing out of his head.

Sure, the news spread quickly about Arthur going to an asylum. But when the news of Arthur being the Queen spread, that was what really got to everyone. Was everyone really that scared of being different?

Alfred sighed, looking out one of the many windows in the library. Naturally, there was that group brave enough to try to storm into the castle because they were mad, or thought that the clocks were wrong and all of that…

Luckily they weren't crowned yet, or they would probably get booted out of it. That had happened before. To that one Queen Yao talked about. Who became a laughing stock. She was actually booted out of the royalty. Alfred still hadn't finished reading about her, but he was sure the other Royals had a hard time working after that happened to her.

Alfred got up from the table he had his large pile of books at and walked over to the window. He looked below and just about one story under him was that little crowd of people yelling at no one. No one really cared enough to listen to them. That was one thing that hadn't changed over history.

"Hey!" Alfred snapped down at them and most of them stopped yelling and looked up at him, apparently bewildered that someone yelled at them. "Could ya quiet down? Some people are trying to read up here."

"Who are you to deny the people what they want?" one of them yelled at him.

"I'm a 5," Alfred said casually. Technically, that was still true. They couldn't take that away from him up here.

"Then you should join us," one of them said. "You shouldn't have to serve an insane, male Queen. It's wrong in the first place."

"I kinda like Queen Arthur, though," Alfred rested his head on his hand. "He's pretty cool, you know?"

"You're an idiot if you like the insane fraud…" one of them sighed.

"What even are you up there?" another tilted their head. "Waiter? Cleaner?"

"Well, you see," Alfred dug into his pocket and pulled out his clock. "This weird clock thing," he showed it to them, he wasn't quite sure if they could see the "K" in the background marking it as the King Clock, but that didn't matter, "chose me for some big job up here. Some position called a King or whatever… So I just get to chill here for a while until they decide what to do with me."

"Our new King is a 5?" one of them marveled.

"I'm a 5…" someone muttered.

"I heard he was a servant, but a 5? Really? I'm a 7!"

"I figured you looked familiar, 5 dude," Alfred leaned a little more over the window. "Haven't I seen you before?"

"My King," someone said behind Alfred and he turned his head to see a servant. He sighed when he saw that it was one of his closer friends before he got chosen.

"You can call me Alfred," he groaned.

"I-I've been told to bring your attention back to your work," the servant stuttered.

"Thanks," Alfred nodded towards her and turned back to the people. "Gotta go, work, you know how it is." Alfred took a step away, remembered something he wanted to say, and turned back to the window. "By the way. You make another crack about how _my_ Queen is insane and I'll make sure you get sent somewhere far away. Maybe Clubs… Nice meeting you, by the way!"

Then he walked away.

Smiling to himself.

* * *

Arthur slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight hurting them slightly, but not too bad. He felt really warm… He had to blink a few times to clear his vision and he figured out that he was lying on his back. The longer he sat there, the more he realized that he was just bored. He didn't know why he was sitting there for so long. He felt fine.

In fact, he felt better than fine. Better than he had felt for a while, to be honest. He slowly sat upright and looked around his room. Nothing much had changed except that the giant pile of papers was gone and the crumpled papers behind his desk was cleared out. The Queen Clock was resting right in the middle of his desk. He could hear it ticking the seconds away.

He ran a hand through his hair, that always helped him think a little more. He realized that he hadn't done much thinking since about a couple days into that damn water treatment. As he ran his hand through, he frowned at how greasy his hair felt. He hadn't had a proper bath since he got taken away…

Arthur sighed and dropped his hand. Judging from the light coming in through his window, it was the middle of the day. Even if it was in the middle of the night, though, he wouldn't be able to go to sleep. He felt like he had enough sleep to last him a life time. He didn't even know how long he had been asleep.

"Arthur?" a small voice asked tentatively. It sounded familiar, but Arthur couldn't place it for some reason. He looked around for it as he swung his legs over the side of his bed and moved the sheets off of him. "Oh, my God! You can hear me!" Arthur felt something attack his ear, making his head loll to the side slightly.

Arthur blinked a few times, registering the voice in his head. "Ella?" Arthur felt a smile grow on his face.

"Arthur!" the familiar face of Ella flew into his face and hugged his nose. Arthur let out a laugh and Ella flew back a couple inches from his face so Arthur could see her clearly.

"I-I'm sorry…" Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. "I should have just stayed stubborn but I…"

"It's okay," Ella smiled. "Because you believe again and you're still alive and…and I missed you…"

"I'm alive…" Arthur muttered. "What does that mean?"

Ella stiffened. "Nothing…" she quickly flew up to the clock resting on the desk.

"Ella," Arthur stared at her. "What do you mean by 'still alive'?"

"You broke your connection to magic," Ella sighed and touched the clock with her foot. "You're connection with it is so strong that it nearly killed you. If it weren't for Alfred saving you. What no one else saw, though, was that you're clock stopped when you admitted you didn't believe…"

"It stopped?" Arthur moved to sit upright, but his vision blurred and he got queasy, so he sat back down. "Wh-what does that mean, if it stops?"

"If it wasn't fixed soon, the other clocks would stop," Ella murmured. "That's a sign of death of the Royals. When one dies, they all do. That's how it works because the set of Royals has to be connected and have chemistry."

"That's why the last Queen mysteriously died in the garden…" Arthur muttered. "Because the King and Jack died…"

"The clocks restart after all of the royals die," Ella sighed. "You were going to know eventually, so I figured that you learned now."

"So I almost killed Alfred because I stopped believing in you?" Arthur asked shakily.

"And Yao," Ella muttered.

"Right," Arthur sighed. "The Jack…"

"You should probably go find them now," Ella said, flying back up to Arthur. "They're worried and Alfred hasn't been able to check up on you very much recently… Besides," Ella's mood suddenly brightened, "I totally wanna see the look on his face when he sees you again!"

"Fine, then, let's get going," Arthur sighed.

"Well, not looking like that," Ella scoffed.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Arthur looked down and winced when he found that they were the same clothes as the ones he got taken away in. They were wrinkled and there were even a few holes in them. "Bloody hell," Arthur rolled his eyes. He immediately moved to the dresser and tried to find something.

"You should probably take a bath, too," Ella flew up and landed on the top of the dresser.

Arthur stopped moving his clothes around and heaved a heavy sigh. "Not right now…"

"Hm?" Ella tilted her head. "What happened to you needing to be a crisp and perfect gentleman?" She put emphasis on it by strutting around with her head held high and her arms moving too much.

"Ella," Arthur stared at her until she stopped. "I'll do it eventually. That fair?"

"Is this because of the asylum?" Ella asked tentatively.

"Please don't ask," Arthur pulled out a random shirt and pair of trousers and turned around.

"'Kay," Ella said. "I'll just wait outside the room for you to change and stuff."

Arthur pulled of his old, tattered shirt and sighed. He hadn't thought about taking a bath… Just the thought of his head going underneath water made him shiver. He had to close his eyes for a second and sit down.

Good Lord, was he afraid of water?

* * *

**Bah, I slept in today... Reading through this chapter, I realize it's not the best, but there's really not much I can do to change it and I'm still tired, so... Yeah...Things'll be kinda calm for a while, I'll probably put in a little more humor to lighten things up from the past couple chapters. But, um, yeah. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Review please!**

**I don't own... I don't even want to write this disclaimer today...**


	15. Meeting Again

Arthur sighed as he quickly slipped out of his room and into the hallway. There wasn't anyone around, not even a servant. Ella quickly flew up to him and had a smile on her face.

"Ready to see your King again?" Ella asked excitedly. "You know, now that you aren't dying?"

"You're not being very cheery," Arthur rolled his eyes as Ella settled on his shoulder. "Now be quiet and don't make me talk to you."

"Yeah, I understand," Ella nodded. She was quiet, just pointing in a direction that Arthur should go. He figured that was where Alfred was.

Arthur still wasn't used to walking from his recent lack of movement, so he noticed himself teeter on occasion and one time he had to lean against a wall to catch his breath. After a while, he ran into a few servants, who looked at him with wide eyes, like they were amazed to see him. Arthur even stopped to talk to one of them.

"Excuse me," he stopped a maid, who didn't seem to be able to look away from him. "Do you know what's been going on around here while I have been…asleep?" He did want to get caught up before he actually went to see Alfred.

"Um…wh-what do you mean?" the maid asked shakily.

"Has there been any news you've heard of?" Arthur sighed. He leaned against a wall because he felt like he was about to fall over.

"Well…there's the new Jack," the maid muttered. "And, um, the King of Diamonds is still here…apparently to make sure you're okay. Um…"

"Has there been any news on Clubs?" Arthur asked. He was very curious with what Ivan was planning with sending him off to that asylum.

"Not that I know of," the maid shook her head. "I-I must say, though, m-my Queen," she said the last word like it was alien to her and Arthur mentally sighed. He didn't know how long it would take people to get used to a male Queen. "It's nice to see you well again."

"Thank you," Arthur nodded. "And it is very good to be back."

With that, the two parted and Arthur continued his way down the hall by the guidance of Ella. He could see a lot of people staring at him, but he just kept walking. He had to stop one or two times before he made it to a door.

"This is the room where the Royals do their work," Ella said quickly. Arthur nodded and was about to push open the door when he heard people talking. He had already listened in on so many conversations, he didn't care if he listened to this one.

"I think I'm seeing letters even when I look away from the paper," Alfred's voice stated and Arthur grinned slightly.

"You should keep working, aru," Yao sighed. "I've already done so much more work than you. I'm even doing some of yours."

"Well, I'm not very good at sitting down for a long time and doing boring work," Alfred groaned. "I wanna go back to the library…"

"Library?" Arthur whispered.

"He can read?" Ella asked bluntly and Arthur stifled a laugh.

"Maybe I should leave you alone," Yao said. "See how you do on your own, aru."

"Aw! Come on!" Alfred complained. "I'll die of boredom in 2 seconds!"

"I'll give you two hours, aru," Yao said and Arthur could hear him standing up.

"Seriously?" Arthur heard something bang against wood. Probably Alfred's head if Arthur guessed right. He could hear footsteps coming close to the door and backed away from it slightly. He didn't want to get caught eavesdropping.

He straightened himself out just in time for Yao to open the door. The second he saw Arthur, he froze and blinked a few times. Arthur let out a small laugh and nodded towards him. This was his first good look at the Jack. He didn't look as young as Alfred and Arthur, but still fairly young. He did look fairly smart, too.

"Alfred, aru," Yao glanced behind his shoulder at Alfred who, sure enough, had his head planted on his desk.

"What?" Alfred sighed, his voice muffled slightly.

"You should look up."

"Why?" Alfred moved his head slightly so that he was able to look up at Yao. When he made eye contact with Arthur, though, he lifted his head up all the way. He stared with wide eyes for a second before he stood up, vaulted over the desk he was sitting at, and ran right at Arthur.

Arthur took a small step back, a little terrified of being slammed by Alfred. But Alfred just picked him up, off the ground and spun him around.

"Oh, my God! You're okay!" Alfred said happily as he spun him around.

"Yes, love," Arthur laughed slightly. "I'm fine. Now you can set me down."

"I don't want to let you go," Alfred said quietly, setting Arthur on the ground, but keeping him wrapped in a hug.

"Alfred…" Arthur muttered.

"I wanna know you'll be safe," Alfred muttered and hugged Arthur a little tighter. But not tight enough so that it hurt. "I don't… I don't want to feel useless again while you're hurt."

"I-I'll be fine," Arthur smiled softly. "I promise." To be honest, Arthur had never had anyone really care this much about him. The only person who actually cared about him in the first place was his own mother.

"This is so cute," Ella whispered excitedly to Arthur, effectively shattering the moment.

"I swear nothing bad will happen to you again, okay?" Alfred said. "You won't even get close to what happened this time." Arthur could feel Alfred shaking slightly. Arthur could even feel little drops of water hit his shoulder, where Alfred's head was.

"Are you…crying?" Arthur asked.

"No," Alfred quickly pulled away and turned around. But Arthur could see him trying to wipe his eyes.

Arthur chuckled.

"It is very good to see you walking, aru," Yao said from behind them.

"I do feel a lot better," Arthur sighed. "I am curious about how Alfred knew what to do, though…"

"Gil," Alfred turned around quickly slinging his arm around Arthur's shoulders. "Ella helped a little, too."

"You…" Arthur blinked a few times. "You saw them?"

"Scared the shit outta me, too," Alfred laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I totally thought Gil was a ghost or something. Which would have totally sucked, by the way."

"So you know about the magic?" Arthur asked.

"I did a little reading while you were recovering from…almost dying," Alfred grinned. "All of the Queens of Spades have had an amazing connection to magic and all of that. Most of them could use spells and shit."

"Not that this isn't a touching reunion, aru," Yao cut in, walking next to them both. "We should be getting to work now that we have the full set of Royals."

"Right," Arthur muttered, still thinking about what Alfred just said. If anything, Alfred was now the only person who would believe that Arthur was never insane… And Arthur couldn't believe he had never known about the line of magical Queens. "Before anything else, I would like to make a meeting with Elizaveta of Spades."

"Why?" Alfred tilted his head.

"I would quite like to know why I was sentenced to an asylum," Arthur stated. "But I can't talk to a King, as I'm a Queen. So I will have to ask their Queen."

"Are you sure?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Arthur stared at him. "And before you ask, this is my problem, not yours. I don't want you asking Ivan about this."

"But-" Alfred tried, but Yao cut him off.

"We can get her here in about a day, aru," Yao stated. "In the meantime, we've gotten most of the work needed for the next week done. You should probably freshen up."

"You do smell a little…off…" Alfred muttered.

"Pardon me for not being able to move for days," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Hey, relax," Alfred smiled. "All you need is a bath."

Arthur let out a sigh, staring at the ground.

"Hm? Something wrong?" Alfred asked.

"I'm fine…" Arthur muttered quietly, closing his eyes.

"Does this have anything to do with the-"

"No, it doesn't," Arthur snapped, cutting Arthur off. He glared at him. He really didn't want anyone to continuously ask him about that place. He really just wanted to forget.

"They gave you water treatment, didn't they, aru?" Yao asked delicately and Arthur stared in disbelief.

"How did you…?" Arthur stared at him.

"You don't have to go underwater if you don't want to, aru," Yao stated.

"Wait, what's the water treatment?" Alfred asked and Arthur moved away from him, slumping against the wall. Yao took his silence as a cue to start talking himself.

"Basically," Yao sighed, "they dunk you into water and keep you there until you almost die, aru."

"And then once you wake up, they do it again," Arthur muttered.

"I'm confused," Alfred said. "How does that work as a treatment in the first place?"

"Brainwashing," Arthur grumbled under his breath. There wasn't any more talking for a while and Arthur just chose to stand there. Until Alfred came up to him and wrapped him into a loose hug.

Arthur just stood there for a second, slightly surprised, then he smiled, letting out a small sigh.

"I'm really fine, love," Arthur shook his head. "I promise."

"I know," Alfred nodded and separated them, but still held onto Arthur's arms. "So…is your problem just that you don't want to put your head underwater? Or do you just don't want to go near it?"

"Alfred, it's not that big of a problem," Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'll get over it eventually."

"If it affects you this much, it is a problem," Alfred stared at him. "I want to make you as comfortable as possible."

"Then I think it's just putting my head underwater is all," Arthur stated. When Alfred let go of him, he had to lean against the wall to stand upright. He felt dizzy and weak all of a sudden.

"Hey, you okay?" Alfred asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I-I think I'm just hungry," Arthur laughed slightly. "I haven't eaten in Lord knows how long."

"Then, food first," Alfred nodded.

"Remember not to eat too much at once, aru," Yao said kindly.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded at him. Then he looked at Arthur with a mischievous gleam in his eye. In a second, Alfred picked him up by the small of his back and the crook of his legs. Arthur let out a yelp in surprise. "To the kitchen first, then!"

"Alfred!" Arthur snapped. He was basically frozen, but he could still feel blood rushing to his cheeks. "P-put me down!"

"But we'll move faster this way," Alfred said cheerfully. "And remember, I said I didn't' want to let go of you."

"There are better ways to hold onto me, love," Arthur shook his head, letting out a chuckle.

* * *

**Okay, then! I'm running late again, but that's because I slept in again. And I'm still massively tired. On the bright side, though. I have absolutely nothing to do today so I can spend the whole time writing. If I'm really lucky, I'll be able to write maybe two whole chapters today! Since Arthur's awake and all that, the story will be a little slow for a while and I'll be focusing more on humor than angst. As will show next chapter...**

**Um, anyway, I love reviews! They really do keep me going. It doesn't even have to be long, it's just really nice to know how I'm doing.**


	16. Taking A Bath

Arthur crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Alfred, this is ridiculous. I'm not doing it."

"And I'm not letting you walk around smelling like shit," Alfred rolled his eyes, shifting the bucket he had just previously filled with water over to his other arm.

"No," Arthur stared up at him.

"Didn't we do something like this before when I tried to get you to eat that soup?" Alfred grinned. "And that didn't happen for a while. I'm not backing down this time."

"Alfred, I'm not doing this," Arthur stared at him.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Alfred sighed and set the bucket on the ground. "We're alone, we're both guys, and your head won't be going all the way underwater."

"No," Arthur stared at him.

"Fine, then," Alfred sat down cross-legged behind the bucket, effectively blocking the door to Arthur's personal bathroom, which was attached to his room. "I'll just wait until you change your mind."

"Alfred, this is stupid," Arthur rolled his eyes. He was sitting in a chair Alfred had dragged in next to his usual bathtub. "I'm not letting you pour that water over me."

Alfred just stared at him, keeping his mouth shut. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, too.

_Silent treatment,_ Arthur thought and sighed. Two could play this game.

The two stared at each other in silence for a while. Arthur relaxed by leaning back in his chair. He knew he could easily win a game like this. Alfred really wasn't one for being quiet. Especially not since Arthur had woken up. It had seemed like Alfred refused to stop talking. In the silence, Arthur stared at the bucket of water that Alfred had brought in. At first, it was steaming hot. Now, though, Arthur had a sinking feeling that it was getting colder. He already knew that Alfred wasn't going to leave until they went through with his plan.

Alfred had settled, too, leaning against the door. But his eyes were staring right at Arthur's defiantly. Arthur couldn't even see him fidgeting, which was odd considering his normally hyper attitude.

"Alfred," Arthur broke the silence. "We both know that this is going to be getting us nowhere."

Alfred stayed silent.

"You really aren't affecting me," Arthur sighed.

Silence.

"Alfred…" Arthur stared at him. Still no response. "Dammit, fine." Arthur sighed. "I'll let you pour that water over me."

"Thank God," Alfred let out a breath like he had just been holding it.

"You were holding your breath?" Arthur asked, fighting back a laugh. "So that's how you stayed so quiet."

"I was really hoping you would give in soon, or I probably would have passed out," Alfred grinned, catching his breath in pants. "You're water got cold."

"I can see that," Arthur chuckled.

"Well, you're not getting new water," Alfred stood up, picking up the bucket as he did so.

"You are not going to pour cold water on me," Arthur shook his head.

"It's what you get for waiting so long to decide," Alfred stuck his tongue out at him.

"You're hopeless," Arthur sighed, but he still had a smile on his face.

"Now, I don't want your clothes to get wet, so you should take them off," Alfred said bluntly, obviously unaware of what he just said.

Arthur could feel his face turn beet red and he muttered something incoherent to even himself.

Alfred stared at him for a while, confused, and then his eyes went wide, like he just realized something. Even his face turned a little red. "Shit, sorry… Uh…how about just your shirt then? D-do you care about those pants?'

"No," Arthur shakily shook his head. He fought back a chuckle, but his face still felt hot.

"Okay, then," Alfred had a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "I'll give you five seconds and then I'll pour the water. Your shirt's gonna be off by then, I don't care what you say."

"That's not much better than what you said before," Arthur shook his head.

"One," Alfred smiled.

"Alfred, don't act like such a child," Arthur chuckled.

"Two," Alfred's smile grew bigger.

"Alfred," Arthur stared at him.

"Three," Alfred chirped happily.

"Bloody hell," Arthur muttered and started taking off his shirt.

"Four," Alfred said and Arthur laid his shirt on the ground next to him.

"You're ridiculous," Arthur sighed.

"Five," Alfred smirked and the bucket tipped over.

"Shit!" Arthur shivered when the water hit him. He felt his hair fall wet onto his forehead.

"You okay?" Alfred asked. "Not scared yet?"

"It's freezing," Arthur snapped.

"Well, that was your fault,' Alfred laughed.

"Thank you," Arthur could feel himself starting to tremble. "If you don't mind, I think I can take care of the rest on my own."

"Oh, right, sure,' Alfred nodded. "I'll just be right outside, if you need me."

"Thank you," Arthur nodded as he left. Arthur chuckled to himself as he tried to warm himself up. Alfred was being so nice to him, even while he was being ridiculous with the whole water thing. He was really happy Alfred was his King.

* * *

It didn't take long for Arthur to get himself cleaned up. And as it turned out, the shirt he was wearing had gotten completely drenched. His trousers, too. But, since Alfred was probably standing right outside in his room, Arthur decided to keep those on for the time being. The shirt, though, he just held onto with one hand and used the other hand to try to tousle his hair and dry it off.

When he came into his room, he found that Alfred was leaning back in the chair at Arthur's desk, staring at the ceiling and whistling some song Arthur didn't know.

"So you did stay out here," Arthur chuckled and started walking towards his dresser to find a not wet outfit.

"Yeah," Alfred said, sounded a bit distracted.

"What are you thinking about?" Arthur asked as he dropped his shirt and started digging around his dresser.

"Do you really love me?" Alfred asked randomly and Arthur immediately stopped his search and turned around. Alfred stood up and started walking towards him. "Because, I mean, you might have just said that because I was the first person you saw after you were let out and…"

"Alfred," Arthur leaned against the dresser, causing the drawer he opened to close. Alfred was standing right in front of him. "I want you to know something. When the clocks chose a King and Queen for Spades, they always chose people that will fall in love. It has never failed in that. We don't have anything to talk about."

"Really?" Alfred asked.

"I'm surprised that you haven't learned about this with all the research you've been doing," Arthur chuckled.

"So…I've always been supposed to love you?" Alfred tilted his head. "It's not weird that I like another man?"

"It's fine," Arthur smiled reassuringly.

Alfred's smile grew quickly and he swiftly grabbed onto the back of Arthur's head, pulling him into a chaste kiss. Arthur didn't even hesitate to close his eyes and kiss him back. It was a while before they slowly pulled apart.

"You know, it does feel a bit odd having our first real kiss without my shirt on," Arthur chuckled, shaking his head.

"So, this is why you told me you wanted me to be your King," Alfred laughed.

"When did I say that?" Arthur asked.

"Um…" Alfred rubbed the back of his neck. "When I left you that rum…"

"You came in when I was drunk?" Arthur blinked. "What the bloody else did I say?"

"You talked a little about Ella," Alfred shrugged. "And you also grumbled about how you felt useless. But, you did try to flirt with me a little."

"Dear Lord, that's embarrassing," Arthur leaned against the dresser again.

"Nah," Alfred cupped Arthur's chin in his hand, making him look up at him. "It was kinda cute."

They shared a small, quick kiss before Arthur turned back around to his dresser. "I should find a new shirt."

"Your pants are wet, too," Alfred laughed.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't really help that with you pouring a bucket of cold water on me," Arthur retorted.

"On the bright side, you're clean now," Alfred smiled.

"Wonderful," Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled out a shirt, quickly putting it on.

A knock on the door silenced Alfred before he could reply.

"Come in," Arthur called to the door and Yao came in.

"I have sort of good news, aru," Yao stated as he stepped into the room.

"Yeah, what is it?" Alfred asked.

"Apparently, Queen Elizaveta was already on her way here after hearing of your return, aru," Yao stated. "She's here, in the library."

"Really?" Arthur asked. He turned his attention to Alfred. "I guess I best be on my way to see her, then."

"Yeah," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "I told Francis I'd talk to him after you woke up."

"Lovely," Arthur sighed and turned his attention back to his trousers. "Would you mind leaving first, though? Since it wouldn't be becoming of me to talk to her like this?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Alfred laughed slightly and him and Yao quickly left the room.

"Nice kiss," Ella giggled as Arthur started digging out a new pair of trousers.

"Oh, shut it," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'm just saying," Ella shrugged. "I told ya you two would look cute together. And notice how those vision thingies stopped with your skin contact after you both admitted your love for each other?"

"The visions," Arthur muttered, pausing in his search for clothes. "Those were from when Alfred brought me back, weren't they?"

"Yup!" Ella nodded. "Believe it or not, it was so totally romantic!"

"Sure didn't feel that way," Arthur sighed and continued digging through for dry trousers.

"So, what are you going to talk with Elizaveta about?" Ella asked.

"It would be better to ask Ivan, but I would prefer not to talk with him and I can't," Arthur muttered, pulling out a random pair of pants. "But I would like to know what Ivan's planning with claiming my insanity. All of the kingdoms are supposed to be in peace, after all… Apparently, though, Clubs has been doing nothing while I've been gone."

"I'll just say that I want you to be careful," Ella sighed. "As Queen, you're in charge of deciding war and all of that stuff. I just don't want you to get carried away."

"I'm more level headed than to do that," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Fine," Ella sighed and swiftly turned around to face the wall. Arthur took that as his cue to change his pants and quickly did so. "You better hurry, since she's already here."

"That's another thing that's bothering me," Arthur sighed. "She immediately came right after hearing that I was back. I just know Clubs is planning something…"

"Just be careful," Ella said, flying up to Arthur's shoulder. "I'm supposed to protect you, right?"

"Don't worry," Arthur smiled at her. "It's just a conversation for now. Nothing more."

With that, Arthur left his room and started towards the library.

* * *

**Awkward chapter... But, whatever, it's more of a filler anyway, with a teeny bit of foreshadowing. Um, anyway, I did get a lot of writing done yesterday, so now I'm ahead and it's all good. Next chapter is a tiny bit intense but then we go back to the cute and fun pretty quickly.**

**Please review! It means a lot to me!**


	17. Declaration of War

Arthur stood in front of the doors to the library. He was trying to think over what he would talk about with Elizaveta before he actually went in to talk to her. He was a little hesitant to open the door, too.

"Are you just going to stand there like an oaf or are you going to talk to her?" Ella asked bluntly.

"I'm thinking," Arthur whispered to her.

"She's one woman," Ella rolled her eyes.

"One woman who lives with Ivan," Arthur countered and Ella stayed quiet. Taking a deep breath, Arthur opened the door and stepped into the library. No one was in there, but one woman who was standing and reading a book, facing a bookshelf. The large desk in the middle of the room had a few stacks of books on them and papers. Other than that, though, the room was spotless, as usual.

"Oh, hello Arthur!" Elizaveta chirped happily, shutting her book as Arthur closed the door behind him. "It's nice to see that you're okay."

"Yes, I do feel a lot better," Arthur said politely and walked towards Elizaveta.

"It's a little weird thinking of you as Queen now," Elizaveta laughed. "You're the first male Queen of Spades, right?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "And I'll admit that I'm still not used to being called a Queen." Ella flew off Arthur's shoulder and landed on a bookcase and Arthur could faintly see Elizaveta's eyes flicker to her for a second.

"I understand why you tried to hide it, though," Elizaveta smiled. "From what I could tell just by coming here, people are not happy."

"I honestly have no idea what to do about that," Arthur sighed. "I'll need to find some way to redeem myself with them."

"I also hear that you and your King are happy together," Elizaveta said happily, a twinkle in her eye.

"Alfred is very sweet and kind," Arthur said. "He's taken care of me since my condition was very poor with my coming out of the asylum." Arthur was slightly proud of himself. His voice hardly wavered when he mentioned the asylum. He was getting tired of this mindless conversation, though. He wanted to get to the main point.

"I'm very sorry about what happened," Elizaveta sighed. "I'm sure Ivan had your best interests at heart."

"That was kind of what I wanted to talk about," Arthur stated. "Would you like to sit down?" Arthur motioned to the table. Half of it was cleared enough for them to sit at.

"Sure," Elizaveta replied happily. As a gentleman, Arthur pulled out the chair for her and moved to the other side of the table. He moved his hand in a way Elizaveta couldn't see that told Ella to fly over to them. Arthur watched Elizaveta carefully as Ella flew in front of her and landed on the table. Sure enough, Elizaveta's eyes flickered to Ella for a second.

"I have to ask," Arthur said as he sat down across from Elizaveta. "Do you know another reasons Ivan might have had for claiming me insane?"

"What do you mean?" Elizaveta asked.

"I would like to know Ivan's reasons for putting me in an asylum," Arthur stated.

"Well," Elizaveta said, dropping the friendly act now that Arthur had, too. "I don't quite know all of my King's motives, if that's what you're referring to."

"I know that Ivan must have had other reasons," Arthur said. "From what I can tell, you can see the fairies too, right? That leads me to believe Ivan can, too."

"You're perceptive, I'll give you that," Elizaveta giggled. "Yes, I can see you're fairy." At that, Ella's attention snapped up to Elizaveta. She stared at her for a while, and Elizaveta even smiled down at her. "Spades has its own gifts and so does Clubs. We can see things not everyone can. Magic, destinies, and all of that."

"And how do you know of the gifts of Spades?" Arthur asked.

"I've been here for a while, Arthur," Elizaveta smiled. "I've been able to read through some of the books your King has been reading. You're a usual Queen, just your gender is different."

"So, you only know of the gifts Queens can hold?" Arthur asked.

"You have other gifts?" Elizaveta asked.

"Maybe," Arthur shrugged. "I have no clue. Back to the subject at hand, though. If Ivan can see the things I was talking to, why did he claim I was insane?"

"I'm not exactly supposed to tell about certain things," Elizaveta said simply.

"Then I do want you to know that what Ivan did can be considered an attack on my safety," Arthur said. "For being sent there with no real reason. I practically died several times over. And as a result for the brainwashing that occurred to me, I practically died again and it almost killed the other Royals of Spades. What Ivan did can easily be considered an attack."

"I am sure he was aware of what he was doing," Elizaveta said. "I am curious, though. How did it almost kill the other Royals?"

"I'm not giving away that secret," Arthur stated. "However, I do want you to know that the intention I see Ivan had for what he did was meant to be an attack on Spades. Any attack on another kingdom can and will be considered an act of war."

"Arthur," Ella snapped at him.

"Are you declaring war?" Elizaveta asked.

"Not entirely," Arthur said. "If Ivan can say a different intent, then I might change my mind."

"So then you are leaving it to us, is that what you're saying?" Elizaveta asked.

"I honestly don't want to be the one to break the peace our Kingdoms have had," Arthur sighed. "The last King and Jack, however. They were murdered and the last Queen died, as well. Along with this attack, I cannot see that peace lasting for too much longer. It will be up to you to decide if you truly want to break that peace like it seems."

"I understand then," Elizaveta nodded.

"Now, if you will excuse me," Arthur stood up calmly, "my kingdom needs to focus on a few things before we can quite do anything."

"I will tell my King what you said, then," Elizaveta nodded, standing up, too.

"Nice seeing you again," Arthur nodded.

* * *

"Arthur, why did you do that?" Ella asked worriedly as Arthur moved down the hallway quickly.

"I have done nothing," Arthur said calmly. "I left it as their decision."

"I told you not to do anything rash," Ella sighed. "And then you go off and do something like that!"

"Relax," Arthur snapped. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

"Going to war with Clubs is a bad idea," Ella shook his head.

"So is going to war with Spades," Arthur replied. "Now, do you know where Alfred is having his talk with Francis?"

"Probably in the meeting room where you were supposed to have that one parliament meeting," Ella muttered. "You know, before that whole fiasco…"

"Right," Arthur muttered and started towards the room.

It didn't take long to get there and he could hear the voices of Alfred and Francis inside. He didn't even both to listen into the conversation this time and walked right in.

"Alfred, I need to talk to you about something," Arthur broke into the conversation they were having.

"Ah! Mon cher!" Francis gasped and Arthur stayed standing where he was, bracing himself. It didn't take long for Francis to come up and hug him. "You are alive."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," Arthur sighed. "Now get off."

"You haven't changed," Francis laughed and separated the two.

"I might as well say it while you're in here, too," Arthur sighed, shaking his head.

"What's up, Artie?" Alfred asked.

"For one thing, don't call me that," Arthur crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You grumpy from your meeting with Liza?" Alfred teased.

"Since when did you have nicknames for everyone?" Arthur asked.

"You had a meeting with the Queen of Clubs?" Francis asked curiously.

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "It was about why Ivan sentenced me to that asylum."

"So, what happened?" Alfred asked.

"I…basically declared war on Clubs…" Arthur muttered.

"You did what?" Alfred quickly walked over to him.

"It wasn't exactly a declaration of war," Arthur sighed. "It was more like an invitation. Telling them to decide who was going to break the peace."

"I know I am supposed to be your ally," Francis sighed. "But going to war against Clubs is very terrifying, non?"

"We'll be fine," Arthur reassured him.

"How does war work exactly?" Alfred asked.

"I forgot you didn't know about anything," Francis snickered.

"First we need to get crowned," Arthur said. "After that, for you, it's just a lot of tactics and telling the army where to go."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Alfred said. "What do you mean by 'for me'?"

"The Kings and Queens have different responsibilities," Francis explained.

"The Queens are the ones that actually go out on the field most of the time," Arthur stated. "The Kings and Jacks focus on what's going on behind the lines."

"No," Alfred shook his head.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"No," Alfred repeated. "I promised you that you would be safe. You aren't going on the front lines."

"Alfred, I have to," Arthur shook his head.

"Then I'm going with you," Alfred stated.

"You can't go onto the battlefield," Arthur sighed. "You're a King. Kings have to stay back. You're the most important part of the kingdom."

"Then you're deciding which one you want to do," Alfred stated. "You stay here or I come with you."

"Not that this isn't adorable," Francis sighed. "We need to focus on what to do before this war happens."

"Yes, first we need to deal with the coronation," Arthur sighed. "The only problem is that I'll most likely get kicked out right after it happens."

"Why?" Alfred asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, not everyone in Spades is happy to have a male Queen, who they think is insane," Arthur sighed.

"And they can boot you out?" Alfred asked.

"If it's unanimous," Arthur sighed.

"Alright, then I got an idea," Alfred smiled.

"Dear God, what are you planning?" Arthur was almost afraid to ask.

"Simple," Alfred shrugged. "I'll make you popular."

Francis just started laughing and Arthur sent a glare at him. "Bastard…" Arthur muttered. He could even hear Ella laughing a little bit.

"So, how do you plan to do the impossible?" Francis snickered.

"Well, I could do it right after the coronation or whatever," Alfred shrugged.

"What about the wedding?" Francis asked and Arthur groaned. He had forgotten that they had to do that, too.

"What wedding?" Alfred turned his attention back to Arthur.

"The King and Queen have to wed in order for their coronation to be complete," Arthur informed. "I don't quite understand it."

"Sweet," Alfred smiled and lightly hugged Arthur. "So I get to be officially married to you and everything?"

"Yes, Alfred," Arthur chuckled.

"I could help you plan for everything," Francis said excitedly as Alfred and Arthur separated.

"Don't you have work to do?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, technically I will be working," Francis winked. "As the ally to Spades, Diamonds must do all it can to aid in any way it can. We are the richest kingdom, after all. We can make it lively! A big difference from the normal Spades."

"Fine, whatever," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Just remember that there's a chance the war will start at any second."

"Yes, sir, Captain Party Pooper," Alfred saluted him, laughing.

"Don't call me that," Arthur sighed.

"'Kay, then I'll just call ya Artie," Alfred chirped and Arthur sighed.

"Adorable," Ella whispered in Arthur's ear and he swatted her away.

* * *

**this chapter was kinda fun to write, for some strange reason. I guess it's because of Elizaveta. I've never really written her before and it was pretty fun. I'm so gonna put her in later! Um, anyway, there was a little bit of intensity for you. Next couple chapters is pretty much just fluff. I know because I've practically written most of what happens next.**

**Reviewing is nice and it truely does help me write!**


	18. Wedding Planning

"Arthur."

"What now, Alfred?" Arthur sighed.

"Black or white?"

"What?" Arthur turned around in his desk. All three of the Royals were in the room with the three desks. Arthur's desk was apparently in front of Alfred's. Which was proving to be very annoying.

"I was just thinking about the whole wedding thing," Alfred shrugged. "What we're gonna wear."

"It's right after the coronation, we'll be wearing the same clothing as then," Arthur stated. "And during the coronation we will be wearing some Spades based outfit someone else picks out for us."

"Well, that's boring," Alfred huffed, slouching in his chair.

"You're excited for that, aren't you, aru?" Yao asked.

"I think it'll be cool," Alfred shrugged. "I've been to a few weddings and stuff before, but that was with a bunch of 5s, so it wasn't as grand this will be."

"Aren't you supposed to be planning whatever it is you came up with to get me 'popular'?" Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Nah, I got that all covered," Alfred said with a wave of his hand. "I've already asked Mattie to make those preparations."

"I wish I could properly meet your brother," Arthur shook his head. "I saw him once and I thought he was you…"

"We have a problem," the doors burst open, leading Francis to run into the room.

"Yes, Francis?" Arthur sighed.

"I am only being allowed to use blue and purple as the colors," Francis said, appalled.

"Yes, those would be the colors of Spades," Arthur stated bluntly.

"How am I supposed to make anything look fabulous with just two colors?" Francis scoffed.

"I'm sure you'll cope," Arthur sighed and leaned on his hand, which was leaning on the desk.

"It's okay," Alfred sighed. "I just got told I can't make Artie wear a white tux."

"Why would I wear a white suit?" Arthur asked.

"Because, well, no offense, but you're so the girl in the relationship," Alfred said. "And the girls wear white at weddings."

"No," Arthur sighed.

"That would have been a wonderful idea," Francis laughed and Arthur twitched.

"You two are incorrigible," Arthur muttered.

"Hey, Yao," Alfred said. "What do you think about the whole coronation and wedding thing?"

"I really don't care, aru," Yao shrugged.

"Personally, if I could skip this whole planning stage, I would," Arthur groaned.

"Well, one of us has gotta be excited for it," Alfred said happily.

"Do you even have a date planned yet?" Arthur asked. There was a long silence in between the four of them. "Figured."

"Well, then, Mister Stuffy Pants," Alfred teased. "How's about a week? That work, Francis?"

"Oui," Francis nodded. "As long as I get working now."

"Wonderful, that means you'll leave," Arthur grinned.

"Tu offenses moi, mon cher," Francis sighed and Arthur rolled his eyes. He tried not to show the fact that he did know the language Francis spoke.

"Hey, do you know who's gonna be our priest guy?" Alfred asked curiously.

"What do you mean by 'priest guy'?" Arthur asked.

"You know, the guy who pronounces us 'man and'…man," Alfred laughed at the last bit.

"That would be the Jack's job," Arthur sighed.

"Really?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, aru," Yao stated.

"So, here's another question," Alfred said. "Who's the one who swears us in as Royals?"

"In this case," Arthur thought for a moment. And then said resentfully, "That would probably be Francis, actually."

"Do explain," Francis raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on Arthur's desk, leaning on it.

"You're currently the highest ranked person in Spades," Arthur stared up at him. "As much as I would hate to admit it…it's true."

"So I get to place those cute, petite crowns on your heads," Francis said cheerfully.

"Dear God," Arthur grumbled.

"That would mean I probably get to be the host for your after party, non?" Francis asked.

"Nah, I got the after party covered," Alfred said proudly. "My make Arthur popular plan, remember?"

"What the bloody hell are you even planning?" Arthur turned around and asked.

"Secret," Alfred put a finger up to his lips and winked.

"Whatever," Arthur rolled his eyes and yawned. He had just realized how late it really was. "I think I'll be heading to bed now," he muttered as he stood up.

"Hey, speaking of that, I wanna ask you a question," Alfred quickly stood up and walked up to Arthur.

"Hm?" Arthur asked in reply.

Alfred smiled slyly and wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist, pulling him close. Arthur could feel a furious blush forming on his face.

"So, I've been thinking," Alfred said.

"Make sure you don't pass out from hard work there, love," Arthur teased.

"Hey," Alfred pouted for a second, but then brightened up again. "I was thinking that, since we're getting married and all of that, and since I really don't have a room to myself in here, we could share?"

"Wh-wh-what?" Arthur muttered out.

"Come on, you're bed's big enough, right?" Alfred laughed, using one of his hands to move the bangs out of Arthur's face.

"Y-You're enjoying making me flustered, aren't you?" Arthur asked.

"It all depends on your answer to this question," Alfred smiled.

"We're going to wind up having to do this later, anyway," Arthur sighed, but still smiled.

"Sweet," Alfred smiled, placing a quick peck on Arthur's lips and separated them.

"Tu es trés adorable," Francis sighed.

"Aiyah, get a room, aru," Yao rolled his eyes.

"I will be off then," Francis winked and quickly made his way out of the room.

"Alright," Alfred smiled brightly. "You gonna head to bed, too, Yao?"

"I guess, aru," Yao shrugged, standing up. "It has been a long day since Arthur woke up."

"Right," Alfred nodded and, before Arthur could even react, picked him up again like a princess. "Then let's go to sleep."

"Really?" Arthur sighed as he got swept off his feet.

"Come on, it's fun," Alfred smiled.

"Maybe for you," Arthur rolled his eyes, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing as Alfred started down the hallway.

"Hey, it saves you from walking," Alfred chirped happily. "Besides, you look a lot cuter this way."

Arthur blushed at that. "I-I'm not supposed to be c-cute," he stuttered out.

"But you are to me," Alfred winked.

"I'm the leader of the army of Spades and I control trade," Arthur sighed. "Again, I'm not supposed to be cute."

"That right there is what makes you adorable," Alfred smiled and Arthur scoffed. "Hey, do you know what I've been wondering?"

"What?" Arthur chuckled.

"Well, I guess I can kinda tell when Ella's around because you're eyes keep on flickering to her, I guess when she says something or moves," Alfred stated. "But, for a while now, you haven't been looking at her. Does that mean she's not around?"

"She was tired," Arthur yawned. "So she went to bed early." Arthur had to admit, it felt very weird talking about fairies and magic around someone.

"I guess I never thought about fairies getting tired," Alfred shrugged.

"They get drunk, too," Arthur laughed slightly. "That night you left the rum, she was the one that encouraged me to drink in the first place."

"Hey, I have another question for you," Alfred said, starting to become a little serious.

"Shoot," Arthur said.

"If all of the past Queens were so worried about people knowing about them seeing fairies, why didn't they just use magic to prove that it was real?" Alfred asked.

"Most of them forgot how to use magic," Arthur stated. "The only reason I learned how to use it was because of Ella. She taught me."

"So, why don't you use it?" Alfred asked.

"I just don't think it's worth it," Arthur shook his head, laughing slightly. "I've learned that, no matter what I do, people will just find a way to say that it's not true. People can think whatever they want. I just know that I'm right, that's all that matters."

"You should show me your magic someday," Alfred smiled as they came up to the door of Arthur's room.

"Perhaps," Arthur said. It had been quite a while since the last time he had used his magic. It might be good to try some eventually.

"Hey, my hands are kinda full, mind opening the door for me?" Alfred asked.

"Well, you could set me down," Arthur rolled his eyes, turning the nob on the door and pushing it open.

"But what's the fun in that?" Alfred laughed.

"Well, it gives me a chance to not feel like a woman," Arthur stated as they walked into the dark room. There was no candle lit, strangely enough.

"Again, where's the fun in that?" Alfred laughed harder.

"Will you just set me down?" Arthur sighed.

"Sure," Alfred chirped and Arthur was set down on his bed.

"I'm curious," Arthur said. "Since you said you have no place to sleep, where have you been sleeping and storing your clothes?"

"Matt and I share a room," Alfred shrugged, messing around with stuff on the desk. Soon, the candle was lit. "It's kinda weird, though. I've been given some new, fancyish outfit every day."

"So, that's why you're somehow well dressed," Arthur chuckled.

"So, I guess now that stuff's gonna show up here," Alfred smiled.

"Do you have any night clothes?" Arthur asked curiously.

"A week ago, I was a 5," Alfred stated. "So…no."

"Was it hard to live as a 5?" Arthur asked. As a 10, he was just used to practically having everything given to him just when he wanted it.

"No," Alfred hummed and leaned against the desk. "We got to do anything we wanted, really. Threw parties, ran around, whatever we wanted. Everyone's like a family in the lower classes. A lot of the time, we got our food for free because no one ever had any money. It makes life a lot easier when there's not money involved."

"That actually sounds rather nice," Arthur sighed, staring at the ceiling.

"So, what were you?" Alfred asked. "8? 9?"

"Since my uncle was King, my family was automatically a 10," Arthur sighed. "I feel kind of bad about that, to be honest. Most of the people worked their way up to a 10, but it was just given to me."

"That's how I felt becoming King," Alfred stared at the ceiling, too. "I used to know all of the servants in this castle, and now they're all acting formal just because I have a title in front of my name…"

"You're still just Alfred to me," Arthur said, looking over at Alfred.

"And you're just my Queen Artie," Alfred laughed.

"Don't call me that," Arthur shook his head.

"Then just Artie it is!" Alfred said happily, standing up.

"Dear Lord," Arthur rolled his eyes as Alfred sat down next to him. Alfred wrapped his arm around Arthur's shoulder pulling him close.

"I love you," Alfred said happily.

"I love you, too," Arthur sighed.

Alfred let out a yawn. "I'm tired."

"You don't quite need to announce everything to me," Arthur chuckled.

"Yeah, but I feel like it," Alfred smiled.

"You're an idiot," Arthur laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I'm your favorite idiot, though," Alfred said happily.

"I don't think that's a good thing, love," Arthur shook his head, still smiling.

"By your standards, it's a great thing," Alfred lightly elbowed him and yawned again. Arthur couldn't help but yawn after. "Maybe we should actually sleep."

"Fine," Arthur said and kicked off his shoes, not really caring where they went. "But if you do anything weird through the night, I'm kicking you out."

"Aw, but you love me too much to do that, right?" Alfred pouted.

"Sure, love, whatever you say," Arthur shook his head.

* * *

**I'm so tired... And I've done none of my homework tonight because I've been playing video games with my sister's boyfriend. I'm sad... Anyway, I kinda like this chapter. It's all cute and fluffy. And a lot of reviewers have asked me the same question- "why doesn't Arthur just prove magic exists by casting a spell?" well, there's your answer, kiddies! To be honest, I would have the same mindset as Arthur. No matter what I do, apparently there's always something wrong with what I've done. So I sometimes just stop trying...**

**And I'm sorry this is so late! I woke up late this morning and had to time to upload before school! But, on the bright side, you'll probably get two within 8 hours... So...**

**Anywho... Reviewing is nice! It might actually get me to finish writing their coronation. (Details! Why!?)**


	19. Learning Something New

Arthur woke up without opening his eyes. He could hear Alfred snoring behind him and he could feel his arm around his waist. Like usual. It had been a week since Arthur had woken up from almost dying. A week since he had that talk with Elizaveta.

A week since they started planning the wedding and coronation.

Arthur opened his eyes, greeted by the blinding light let in through the window. He gave himself a few moments to fully wake up before he turned his attention to his sleeping partner behind him. Normally, he would let him have his rest and just silently leave the room. But today was different.

"Alfred," Arthur stated, looking over his shoulder a the still sound asleep man. "Alfred!" Still nothing. Arthur sat upright and turned to look at Alfred, who was apparently subconsciously looking for Arthur with his hands now that he had moved. Arthur sighed, shaking his head.

"Why are you waking him up so early?" Ella yawned, flying up to him.

"In case you've forgotten already," Arthur stated. "Tomorrow is the coronation and wedding. And since we haven't done any rehearsing, that's what we'll have to deal with all day."

"So, rehearsing like, saying your vows and speeches and stuff?" Ella asked.

"And teaching Alfred manners," Arthur sighed. "There's a dinner in between the two events."

"Well, you're screwed," Ella laughed.

"Sod off," Arthur rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Alfred. "My first challenge today, however, will be getting him out of bed…"

"Good luck with that," Ella giggled.

"Well, you could assist," Arthur said as he untangled himself from the sheets and stood up, out of bed.

"What can I do?" Ella scoffed. "He's seen me once and I nearly fainted from all of the magic I used up."

"Well, he said he wanted to see my magic," Arthur muttered and walked over to Alfred's side of the bed.

"What's this?" Ella gasped. "Arthur Kirkland pulling a prank?"

"Shut it," Arthur hissed at her and stood in front of Alfred, whose back was to him. He took a deep breath and focused. It really had been a while since he had used magic. It took him a while to store up the correct amount of energy to perform the spell he was thinking of and not wind up fainting. "_Aqua_." He felt so stupid saying just a simple spell like that, but it was all he needed for the time being.

He opened his eyes upon saying the word and a splash of water came out of his hand, which he had pointed at Alfred's head. The second he made contact with Alfred, thoroughly soaking him, Alfred sat up straight, gasping.

"What the…" Alfred looked down at his soaked shirt.

"Good to see you awake, love," Arthur smirked and walked over to the other side of the bed.

"What did you just…" Alfred looked down to the side of the bed and looked around the room. "How did… Why…What?"

"I needed you to wake up," Arthur shrugged, still smiling.

"I'm wet," Alfred muttered.

"I can see that," Arthur chuckled.

"How?" Alfred looked around some more. "I-I don't see a bucket."

"I don't need a bucket," Arthur stated, leaning against his desk.

"You did…" Alfred pointed at him.

"Yes, love, magic," Arthur nodded.

"That was freezing," Alfred shuddered.

"You can consider it payback for dunking me in cold water," Arthur stated.

"Okay, well, all of your other water was warm," Alfred argued.

"It's still dunking me in water," Arthur grinned.

"Fine," Alfred huffed and stood up. He quickly took off his wet shirt and started shaking his hair, trying to dry it off.

"How does that one strand keep standing up?" Arthur asked curiously as he stared intently at Alfred's muscular back. He just realized that he had never really seen Alfred without a shirt on, while Alfred had seen Arthur quite a lot like that for the past week.

"I dunno," Alfred laughed, turning around slightly. "It's done that since I first grew hair."

"I see," Arthur wasn't exactly surprised that Alfred was so muscular, considering Alfred picked him up all the time and, at one point during the week, pinned him to a table. But Arthur had never gotten a good chance to see the muscles.

"What about your hair?" Alfred asked, obviously oblivious to the fact that Arthur was staring right at him. "Is it always that messy?"

"I've found it pointless to tame it," Arthur stated. Alfred was very tan, too. Like he just laid out in the sun all day. Which was possible. He was a 5 before this, after all.

"What about your eyebrows?" Alfred asked. That snapped Arthur out of his trance while he was admiring how the water practically made him shine. "Those things are huge!"

"And what the bloody hell is wrong with my eyebrows?" Arthur demanded defensively.

"Well," Alfred laughed, walking calmly up to Arthur. "Other than the fact that there's 12 of them, they kind of take up half of your face."

"I'm sorry, I can't quite help what I was born with," Arthur snapped.

"It's okay, though," Alfred smiled and pulled Arthur into a hug by his waist. That was when Arthur realized again that Alfred was still shirtless. And he was pressed up against his toned chest. Arthur felt his face heat up dramatically and he felt himself freeze. "I kinda like 'em."

"I-I-I…" Arthur muttered shakily.

Alfred let out a laugh. "Didn't know I was that distracting," he said happily and pulled Arthur in closer. "Guess that's why all the girls could never look away from me, right?"

"I-I-I…" Arthur repeated, completely shut down.

"Do you want me to put a shirt back on?" Alfred rested his chin on top of Arthur's head.

Arthur felt his face heat up more now that it was pressed against Alfred's chest. Arthur gulped before responding with a quiet, "Yes."

"'Kay," Alfred chirped and walked away. Arthur felt like he could finally breath again now that he wasn't pressed up against Alfred. "So, mind telling me why you woke me up so early?"

"Rehearsal," Arthur muttered, slowly coming back to reality.

"For what?" Alfred asked, quickly pulling out a shirt and pulling it on easily.

"Do tell me you haven't forgotten what's happening tomorrow," Arthur shook his head.

"Of course I haven't," Alfred laughed. "What do we need to rehearse that for?"

"Well, for one thing, you have two sets of vows you have to memorize," Arthur sighed. "The ones to Spades and the ones to me. Then there is the fact that there is a formal dinner and dance in the middle of the two ceremonies. And on top of that, you, as King, have to formally announce us to the entire kingdom. And you've been too busy planning this damned thing to even think about all of the things you have to do."

"Okay, well, for your information, I've already got my vows for you down pat," Alfred stated. "And the ones for Spades, Francis is giving us to repeat, so I just need to listen to him during the thing. It's also pretty easy to announce what we are to a bunch of people. I'm great with public speaking. And then who cares about a stupid dinner and dance?"

"It's tradition, Alfred," Arthur sighed. He tried to ignore the fact that Alfred made decent points with everything else. "You need to actually have manners for those kinds of things. I know you can dance, but the dance we have to do is a little more complicated."

"Fine, whatever," Alfred groaned. "Do we really have to do that today?"

"Yes, Alfred," Arthur started walking towards him. "Because you've been too busy planning for the past week."

"'Kay, then let's get started since we're already awake," Alfred smiled.

"You should put your glasses on first," Arthur grinned.

"That's why you look blurry!" Alfred laughed and Arthur laughed with him.

* * *

"So, I use this fork first, right?" Alfred asked.

"No, that one," Arthur sighed. He was very close to slamming his face onto the table. Alfred had no problems rehearsing the crowning and the wedding. He refused to say his vows beforehand, though. And even the dance turned out with just him hitting Arthur's shins a few times. The dinner, however, was taking hours.

"Why is it so complicated?" Alfred groaned. "Why can't you just use one fork and spoon the whole time? And why are some of them put above the plate?"

"It's proper manners, Alfred," Arthur informed. "This is something I've been raised up with. But I honestly have no clue why it's taking you so long to learn."

"Probably because it's stupid," Alfred muttered, playing with a random fork he picked up.

"Here's a trick," Arthur sighed, standing up so that he was behind Alfred. He pointed to the fork on the outside. "You go outside to in as the meal goes on. Just use whatever's the furthest out when you get a new dish."

"The other servants are gonna be serving us, aren't they?" Alfred asked, slouching in his chair slightly.

"Yes," Arthur muttered, sitting back down next to Alfred.

"I don't like the idea of my friends serving me," Alfred flicked at the plate.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said softly. "But that is their job. This is ours and we have to respect it. You know, in my opinion, I think the servants do more than we do in running this kingdom."

"I think the work load's about the same," Alfred shrugged.

"You can do a lot of things I can't," Arthur smiled. "I can't swim, I never have known. I can only ride a horse for a few seconds at a time. All I can do is sit around and tell people what to do. You have more of a chance to do whatever you want. And without any of the lower classes, all I would have for a kingdom is a bunch of clones that can't do anything. You make things interesting."

"You can't swim?" Alfred asked.

"I don't think I have much of a chance to learn now," Arthur shook his head.

"Well, then I have an awesome idea!" Alfred stood up suddenly. "Swimming lessons!"

"What?" Arthur stared up at him.

"It'll be a good way for you to overcome your fear of water and for you to learn how to swim," Alfred smiled excitedly.

"I don't see the point in learning to swim," Arthur shook his head.

"And that's what's stopping ya!" Alfred poked Arthur's forehead, earning an unamused glance from Arthur. "Hey, you've taught me that weird dance and taught me manners and shit. What do you say to letting me teach you something?"

"One, you haven't finished learning your manners," Arthur shook his head. "Two, please do not end a sentence with 'and shit'. And three, I do not need to learn how to swim. Spades is nowhere near a large body of water."

"I won't learn my manners, then," Alfred crossed his arms in front of his chest, "until you agree to let me teach you how to swim."

"You're being ridiculous," Arthur sighed, staring up at Alfred's defiant eyes. He had seen that look before. And he didn't win against Alfred that time. "Fine, I'll let you teach me how to swim."

"Really?" Alfred asked. "That didn't take long."

"I've learned that it's near impossible to win against you," Arthur sighed. "I shouldn't even try anymore."

"Sweet!" Alfred hugged him, even though he was sitting down. "We can start the day after the wedding, 'kay?" Alfred leaned forward, gave Arthur a quick peck on the lips, and sat down on his chair again.

"Sure," Arthur chuckled, amazed at how quickly Alfred could change his mood.

"Okay, then!" Alfred said excitedly. "Teach away, master!"

"Show me which fork you'll use first," Arthur sighed, leaning his arm on the table and leaning his head on his hand.

"Um…" Alfred stared at the forks carefully. "This…one…?" he shakily pointed to the one on the end.

"Correct," Arthur smiled.

"Really?" Alfred stared at him like a lost puppy and Arthur nodded.

"Now, which one comes next?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

* * *

**Ah, manners... How I hate you... Here will be a good time to tell you all about the spells Arthur is using. It's Latin, and as I do not know Latin, I am using Google Translate. Fair warning. I would probably use that for French, but I'm in a French class in school and it's apparently teaching me something. So, anyway, if my Latin is wrong with anything, if any of you know Latin in the first place, please don't get too mad at me.**

**Also, a nice review asked about their ages, which I've never quite established. So, I'll just put that here. Alfred and Arthur are the same age at 19 and Yao is a little older at 23. Don't ask me how I decided that. I always knew in my head generally how old they all were, but this is the first time I wrote it down.**

**And please review! We're getting close to the wedding, but remember that Clubs can announce war at any second.**


	20. Anxiety Attack

Arthur stood in front of the mirror in his room, staring at the outfit given to him for coronation. He had a black, long-sleeved shirt with a blue vest over top of it and purple trousers. On top of it was a purple tail coat with blue trim all around it. And his shoes were practically knee high purple boots with blue trim as well. Just looking at it, Arthur could tell that it was made for a Queen. He knew the designers for the coronation outfits must have been depressed. They had always had one girl to go all out on with a dress. And now it was just another guy.

"You look handsome," Ella flew up onto his shoulder. She apparently felt like being festive so she was in a navy blue dress with purple boots, gloves, and hat.

"Yes, I suppose so," Arthur sighed, turning to get a view of his backside. He couldn't help but wonder where Alfred was getting dressed. The outfits of each Royal was kept a secret until the actual ceremony, so they all got ready in different rooms. Arthur had to admit, getting doused in water wasn't the same without Alfred.

"You nervous?" Ella asked.

"You could say that," Arthur turned towards his desk and leaned against it so that he was facing the door. He had to wait here until someone came to fetch him.

"I'd be really nervous," Ella mumbled, flying onto the desk and pacing. "I mean, going up to the entire kingdom, basically, and telling them to just deal with having a male Queen. And marriage is pretty scary, too."

"Ella," Arthur closed his eyes, sighing. "Please don't do that to me."

"Sorry," Ella shrugged and continued her pacing. "You know what you're gonna say to Alfred for your vows?"

"If I can remember," Arthur chuckled, opening his eyes now. "Alfred said he knew his well, so I'm very curious as to what those are…"

"How do you feel about Francis crowning you?" Ella snickered.

"If there was anyone better, I would have chosen them," Arthur stared at the ground. "I'm sure he can be serious when he wants to be. Unlike during rehearsal…"

"He almost made you admit you loved him, didn't he?" Ella laughed. "And then there was the-"

"Shut it," Arthur rolled his eyes. "That's beside the point. I'm sure Francis cares enough about Diamonds to make sure that he keeps a good reputation here."

"Even though I can't count how many women…and men…he's had sex with in the two weeks he's been here," Ella rolled her eyes, walking without bending her legs now. "How long do you think it'll take for them to come and get you?"

"I have no clue," Arthur sighed. "I'm trying not to think about it until I have to."

"I'm excited to see you in that crown," Ella twirled around. "You'll look pretty spiffy. And Alfred…"

"Will you be quiet?" Arthur snapped.

"I'm just saying," Ella shrugged. "I've seen his outfit, and put a crown on top of that, he's damn sexy."

"Isn't he my fiancé?" Arthur quirked an eyebrow.

"For future reference," Ella laughed.

"Good Lord," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Who told you that you could sneak around and see the outfits?"

"I didn't look at Yao's," Ella shrugged.

"Of course you didn't," Arthur shook his head. That was when he heard a knock at his door and a knot coiled in his stomach. This was it, then… "Come in."

A servant silently opened the door. Arthur looked a little more carefully at him, and found that it was Alfred's brother.

"I-It's good to see you awake and well," Mathew muttered.

"And it is good to finally meet you," Arthur smiled politely, nodding towards him.

"I guess we'll be brothers-in-law soon," Mathew smiled lightly.

"Seems that way," Arthur chuckled. "So, are you the one that's going to be bringing me to the ceremony?"

Mathew nodded. "I asked if I could be the one to take you since we're about to become related and I still don't know anything about you…"

"Lovely idea," Arthur nodded and stood up from leaning against the desk and walked towards the lad. It was weird, for twins, the two seemed to be years apart. Mathew was a lot smaller and his features were softer. Not to mention his voice was practically a whisper, unlike Alfred's usually yelling voice. Unless he was flirting with Arthur. Then his voice turned a soft husky…

The two seemed to be polar opposites. Arthur couldn't help but wonder how they seemed to get along so well.

"Aw!" Ella gushed. "He's cuter than Alfred!" Arthur rolled his eyes and swatted her away nonchalantly.

"So, have you worked here as long as Alfred?" Arthur asked as they started their way down the hallway. Arthur knew where the ceremony was taking place, the main hall. Arthur was pretty sure that it was packed with people, too.

"Yeah," Mathew nodded. "We started working at the same time to support our parents. Not like we'll need any help with it now… He's probably the highest paid person in Spades…"

"As a blood relative to Alfred," Arthur said, "your family could stay here in the castle, if they wanted."

"I doubt they do," Mathew chuckled. "They don't like having things handed to them. They hardly like it when Alfred and I give them money."

"Then, what do you think you will do?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know," Mathew hummed. "I do like working here. I've made some friends and I love most of the jobs I have to do, so I see no point in changing what's already been going on."

"I understand," Arthur smiled. "That probably would have been Alfred's choice, if he was given one."

"I'm pretty sure the only reason he accepted the position was for you," Mathew said. "He was so distressed about what happened to you that he did literally anything he could. He rode bare back on a horse all the way to the asylum. But he knew that he would be able to help you most as a King, so that was why he took the position."

"So it's my fault," Arthur smiled slightly, staring ahead.

"You could say that," Mathew giggled.

"I'm curious," Arthur muttered. "Do you play any other role in this ceremony other than brining me?"

"Well, I'm helping make the food for the dinner," Mathew shrugged. "I'll be missing you swearing in, which is a little sad… But I did get an invitation to your wedding, which means that I'll get to see that."

"If you want, I'm pretty sure Alfred and I could pull some strings and let you watch the coronation," Arthur offered.

"I would feel out of place, anyway," Mathew laughed. "Besides, I've been told I'm a pretty good cook, eh."

"If you insist," Arthur shrugged. They became quiet as they got near the main hall. But, as they got closer, Arthur could hear the sound of Alfred and Yao talking. The Royals would usually stand in behind the doors and wait to be let in, so they would all walk in together.

"Dude, this is so freaking nerve wracking…" Alfred muttered.

"You should stop messing with your sleeves, aru," Yao sighed. "They're already starting to unravel."

"Yeah, well, I don't care," Alfred replied.

Arthur and Mathew rounded the corner together and Arthur was met with the sight of Alfred and Yao dressed up for their coronation.

Yao was dressed more scholarly than anything. He had on a long, buttoned up jacket that reached about his knees. It was blue with purple trim and he had black pants on beneath it with purple boots. Even the ribbon pulling back his hair was blue and purple.

Then there was Alfred.

He had on a purple coat with an intricate design embroidering the front and ends of the sleeves in blue. It was buttoned up, completely covering any shirt he may have had on. He had blue pants with black boots that reached just above his ankles. Even his glasses were a navy blue. Ella was right about that outfit… Alfred looked amazing.

"Oh, thank God!" Alfred sighed when he saw the two and immediately went up to hug Arthur.

"Well, hello to you, too," Arthur chuckled.

"I'm really, really nervous, dude," Alfred pulled Arthur out to arm's length, holding onto his shoulders. "I-I've never really done anything this important in my life… And-and I don't know if…I'm not good at commitments. And this outfit is itchy. And you look really sexy right now…"

"You look rather fetching as well," Arthur laughed, shaking his head. "But you should calm down."

"I'm fine," Alfred quickly stepped back a bit and straightened his outfit out. That was when he finally noticed Mathew standing to Arthur's left. "Oh, hey Matt, when did you get here?"

"Been here the whole time, Alfred," Mathew sighed. "I was just here to bring Arthur. I-I should go start cooking now."

"Oh, yeah?" Alfred rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, wish me luck."

"Good luck," Mathew nodded and turned around heading towards the kitchen.

"So that was his mysterious brother, aru," Yao muttered. "I hardly noticed him…"

"Yeah, he's pretty quiet," Alfred laughed slightly, obviously not meaning it, and started pacing in front of the door.

"I don't think I've ever seen you nervous, Alfred," Arthur laughed.

"Because I'm usually not," Alfred sighed. "I blame these clothes. I'm never nervous in my old clothes, but the second I put these on, I just felt knots in my stomach, bro."

"Calm down, you'll be fine," Arthur rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall next to the door. "You did perfect during the rehearsals."

"But what if I do something stupid, like forget which fork to use first?" Alfred whined, pacing quicker. "Or I forget what I'm supposed to say? Or…or I just choke and say nothing at all."

"He's even more nervous than you," Ella muttered.

"Alfred, don't make me slap you," Arthur stated and Alfred stopped, staring at him.

"I bet you don't got the guts," Alfred muttered.

"I know you have better grammar than that," Arthur closed his eyes.

"And I don't care anymore," Alfred slumped against the wall across from the door and slid onto the ground, his legs sprawled in front of him. He put his hands over his face. "I just wanna get this damn thing over with…"

"You should try getting a hold of yourself before the time comes to just 'get this damn thing over with'," Arthur scoffed.

"I'm nervous," Alfred tucked his legs close to himself and stared at the ground intently.

"I can tell, aru," Yao muttered.

"You are getting dreadfully annoying, love," Arthur shook his head.

"Well I can't help it," Alfred pulled his hands to his head and gripped onto his hair. "I'm so nervous, I could rip my hair out."

"Well, you shouldn't do that," Arthur smirked.

"Hey, on the bright side, he isn't running away," Ella shrugged. "That shows that he at least wants to do all this." That gave Arthur an idea.

"You could just leave, if you're so nervous," Arthur stated bluntly and Alfred snapped his attention up to him. Even Yao stared at him.

"What, aru?" Yao snapped.

"Leave?" Alfred asked.

"If you're so scared of it, you could easily just leave," Arthur shrugged. "No one could blame you."

"Okay," Alfred stood up. "One, Alfred F. Jones does not run away. Two, I'm the freaking King, I can't just ditch you guys. And, three," Alfred walked up to Arthur, "I love you and I swear that nothing will stop me from making you mine to protect and treasure."

"Still nervous?" Arthur grinned.

"Dammit," Alfred groaned, walking away slightly. "That freaking reverse psychology thing, right?"

"I was just providing you with an option," Arthur shrugged, still smirking. "But does this mean that you'll stop worrying? That answer was perfect for a King of Spades. You're perfect. There's no reason to be nervous."

"Yeah, I know…" Alfred muttered. "But, yeah, I think I'm over myself."

"Good," Arthur nodded.

Next to him, the door suddenly opened and he felt butterflies starting to form in his stomach.

"Oh, shit," Alfred muttered under his breath.

"Aiyah," Yao sighed.

* * *

**Okay, so I ended on a cliffhanger here and I feel bad, but it had to be done. The whole ceremony thing will actually take a couple chapters all spanned out. It's kind of funny. The whole time I was writing this, my sister was going over vocab and one of her words was cavorting, which was messing me up because I was taking it a bit too far. "making merry" "exuberantly prancing around." It's like my whole Yao...i... discovery... I feel so bad...**

**Anyway! Please review! You all are being too kind. I even have someone willing to give me Latin translations so I won't have to go onto Google Translate!**


	21. Officially Royal

Arthur, Alfred, and Yao made their way down the middle of the main hall and Arthur desperately tried not to look at the large group of nobles on either side of them. Alfred was in the middle of them, Arthur on his right, and Yao on his left. The servant who opened the door was leading them down the long hall, where at the end, Francis was standing.

Everyone else in the room was wearing navy blue and purple. Francis, on the other hand, was decked out in orange and yellow, practically making himself the center of attention. He was wearing a simple yellow shirt with a yellow ascot sticking out of it. On top of that was a long, orange jacket that went down to practically his ankles. And he had orange puffy pants with yellow boots that went up to his shins.

Arthur inwardly groaned when Francis winked at him, but kept going with his head held high. He felt something brush against his left hand and quickly glanced at it. It was Alfred. He was trying to hold onto Arthur's hand. Arthur flashed him a reassuring smile before he held onto Alfred's hand. It didn't matter, really, to Arthur. If they were to wed soon, anyway, then it didn't matter if they held hands.

"Bonjour, new Royals," Francis said happily when they got to him. They were maybe three feet apart. Arthur shot him a pleading look that basically said "please be serious."

Soon, the trio in front of Francis knelt down, bowing their heads. It was always customary, a sign of respect for the person in charge of crowning them.

"Yao," Francis said, making his voice sound imposing. He actually did a rather good job of it… Yao lifted his head to look up at him. "You can stand." Yao stood up. "Repeat after me…"

Arthur tuned them out at that point, favoring to just get lost in his thoughts. He slightly trembled at the thought of having to run a country but he was still holding Alfred's hand, which was very reassuring. He held on tighter to Alfred's hand and Alfred squeezed tighter in response.

"Arthur," Francis' voice cut into Arthur's thoughts and Arthur looked up at him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Yao kneel down from standing with the small crown of the Jacks on his head. "You can stand." Arthur stood up slowly, not wanting to let go of Alfred's hand, but he did so eventually. He was staring right in Francis' eyes and Francis did a good job of keeping himself serious. "Repeat after me. I, Arthur Kirkland."

"I, Arthur Kirkland," Arthur repeated.

"Do solemnly swear."

"Do solemnly swear."

"To protect Spades and its King."

"To protect Spades and its King."

"To maintain fairness in war and trade."

"To maintain fairness in war and trade."

"And to never betray the trust bestowed upon me by my fellow royals."

"And to never betray the trust bestowed upon me by my fellow royals."

"Even if it costs me my life."

"Even if it costs me my life."

"Congratulations," Francis said with a gleam in his eye. He turned around for a second and turned back with a pointed crown, slightly larger than Yao's, and placed it on Arthur's head. "Arthur Kirkland, Queen of Spades."

Arthur closed his eyes when he heard a small sigh go through the audience behind him.

"Alfred," Francis turned to Alfred's kneeling figure and Arthur took that as his cue to kneel back down, staring at the ground. "You can stand." This time, Arthur actually listened to what was being said around him. "Repeat after me. I, Alfred Jones."

"I, Alfred F. Jones," Alfred stated and Arthur stifled a laugh at his correction to Francis.

"Do solemnly swear."

"Do solemnly swear."

"To rule Spades fairly and strongly."

"To rule Spades fairly and strongly."

"To maintain order and keep Spades at its best."

"To maintain order and keep Spades at its best."

"And to stop anyone who tries to come in the way of that."

"And to stop anyone who tries to come in the way of that."

"Even if it costs me my life."

"Even if it costs me my life."

"Congratulations, Alfred _F_. Jones," Francis put emphasis on the F, "King of Spades." There was a short pause and the room stayed perfectly quiet. No one even sneezed or coughed. Perfectly still. "You may all stand."

Arthur stood up with Yao. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Alfred standing straight up, staring at Francis. His crown was bigger than Arthur's and more extravagant, but that was because he was King. It also looked manly. Arthur's was most definitely designed for a woman to wear.

"Congratulations," Francis smiled. "You are the new Royalty of Spades."

The crowd behind them started clapping politely and Arthur reached for Alfred's hand again as they turned around to leave the main hall, Francis following behind them. Alfred grabbed onto his hand, too and the group headed out the door.

The nobles stayed inside and Arthur could hear them start to talk amongst themselves as they left. The second the door closed behind them, Alfred let out a sigh.

"Thank freaking God that's over," he leaned his head back. They stopped walking for a second.

"We can go to dinner if you announce us to Spades," Arthur laughed slightly, though he could feel himself shaking.

"Vous etês trés adorable," Francis chuckled, shaking his head. "Holding hands…"

"Shut it, frog," Arthur snapped, turning his head sharply, which caused his crown to tip off his head and start to fall. But Alfred easily caught it with one hand.

"I think you dropped something," Alfred laughed, carefully placing it back on Arthur's head.

"Thank you, love," Arthur nodded.

"We should get to the balcony, aru," Yao reminded them bluntly and Arthur sighed. There was one part of the castle, a balcony, that stretched out far in front of the castle. Normally, during important ceremonies, as many citizens as possible crowded around it, so it was a perfect chance for the King of Spades to introduce the new royals.

"Dude, I'm not good with things like this," Alfred groaned as they started walking again.

"You'll do fine," Arthur rolled his eyes. "What happened to you being great with public speaking?"

"That was before I felt all this pressure," Alfred stared at the ground.

"You're already King," Arthur stated. "There is nothing you can say up there that will convince these people not to follow you."

"Kay," Alfred sucked in a deep breath as they stopped in front of the double doors to the balcony.

"I must stay back here," Francis said.

"Good," Arthur sighed. "Otherwise you would attract attention in your orange outfit."

"The colors of my beautiful Diamonds are beautiful," Francis scoffed and leaned against the wall next to the door. "I will wait for you here. After all, I am to escort you to dinner."

"What am I supposed to say?" Alfred whispered to Arthur as they opened the door and stepped outside. The sky was turning a vague orange, making everything turn that color as well. There was indeed a large crowd around them.

"You're the King," Arthur said. "You'll know what to say." The crowd immediately hushed when they came to the end of the balcony. Arthur could feel Alfred's hand shaking something horrible when they got there. Arthur held his hand even tighter in the awkward silence while Alfred seemed to be thinking of something to say.

"I now present," Alfred said loudly and Arthur was amazed that his voice was so even, considering how bad his hand was shaking, "Yao Wang, Jack of Spades," there was a loud cheer there and Alfred waited until everyone quieted down to continue, "Arthur Kirkland, Queen of Spades," there was an awkward silence there, "and I, Alfred Jones, King of Spades." There was a massive cheer at that point and Alfred's shaking relented a little bit.

They stood there for a while, Arthur hanging his head slightly at the fact that not a single person said one thing when he was announced. When Alfred turned around, though, both Arthur and Yao did, too. Alfred seemed to walk very quickly back through the double doors and the sound of the crowd was muffled when the doors closed.

"I'm sitting down now," Alfred said quietly and sat down against the wall opposite the doors. He was still holding on to Arthur's hand, so he sat down with him to make him more comfortable. At this rate, it felt like Alfred would rip off his hand sooner than let go.

"You did fine, love," Arthur said reassuringly.

"And I did love the awkward silence when you were announced Queen," Francis chuckled, receiving a menacing glare from Arthur.

"I don't wanna do that again," Alfred muttered, sounding an awful lot like Mathew.

"You will have to do that a lot as King," Francis stated.

"You're not helping," Arthur hissed at him.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Francis shrugged.

"Ready for dinner yet, aru?" Yao asked.

"Why so rushed, mon ami?" Francis quirked an eyebrow.

"Clubs could declare war at any second, aru," Yao sighed. "Sorry if I want to make sure we can actually fight as a country before that happens."

"I'm sure Artie'll be fine," Alfred muttered. "H-He's good at military stuff, I'm sure… Queens are good at that stuff…"

"Your mumbling, love," Arthur chuckled, patting his back. "On the bright side, you're halfway done. All you need to do is the marriage."

"Shit," Alfred sighed.

"We need to deal with the dinner first, aru," Yao stated.

"Right, fine," Alfred stood up quickly, Arthur following soon after.

"Off to the dinner," Francis said excitedly and the group started towards the dining hall. Arthur sighed, Francis was obviously used to things like this. But Alfred was terrified of what was going on around him. He was practically crushing Arthur's hand.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

** . Is. Evil! It took me six freaking hours to write! Detail! Why! And the vows took me about half an hour in the first place... If I had done the Jack, I would have killed myself... Anyway! They're officially King, Queen, and Jack! Next up is dinner and then they get to marry! Won't that be fun?**

**Please review! It's very awesome. Speaking of awesome... I'm trying to think of ways for Gilbert to come back...**


	22. Adventures in Food

Arthur strode down the halls of the castle, still holding Alfred's hand, with Francis and Yao behind them. Alfred's grip had loosened slightly, which meant Arthur could feel his hand again. They had just about made it to the dining hall.

"Have you calmed down a little, love?" Arthur asked Alfred quietly.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded slightly, his usual smile coming back onto his face slowly. "Sorry I freaked out on ya."

"I understand, it's okay," Arthur chuckled.

"I'm surprised you've been able to stay calm," Alfred laughed, still staying quiet so the people behind them couldn't hear what they were saying. "I think that's what's been helping me through, to be honest."

"It's the least I could do for everything you've done for me," Arthur assured him.

"If you two love birds are done gossiping," Francis poked his head in between them, "we are at the dining hall."

That was when Arthur noticed for the first time that they were indeed at the doors. Francis walked ahead of them, in front of the doors.

"You'll have to stop holding hands, aru," Yao stated. "If you want to make a decent impression."

"Right," Alfred sighed begrudgingly. He gave Arthur's hand one last squeeze before letting go. Arthur felt the butterflies in his stomach come back almost immediately.

Francis nodded at the group, like they looked okay, and quickly opened the doors into the dining room. There were several nobles standing around, sipping wine or champagne, and they all turned to stare at the Royals entering the room. This time, though, Francis wasn't alone in his orange outfit. There were a few nobles from Diamonds around, seeing as they were allies to Spades. Everyone was quiet, staring at them, and Arthur silently wished for Alfred's hand again.

"Bonjour," Francis said happily, obviously used to the attention and stress. Everyone went back to talking and slowly filed to their seats. The trio of Royals walked to the head of the table. Alfred sat at the head, Arthur on his right, and Yao on his left.

It didn't take long for food to be placed in front of them. Arthur hardly paid attention to it, even as he ate it. He was too nervous of possibly making a bad impression on all the nobles. He could still see Alfred staring down the forks and trying to figure out which one to use. He picked one up eventually and started eating, very over-carefully. Arthur chuckled to himself and shook his head slightly. Ella was standing on the table in-between him and Yao. She was staring down the food as Arthur ate it, which he had to admit, put him on edge.

"You do realize we can talk, right Alfred?" Arthur finally spoke up. It was hardly noticed in the crowd around them.

"I just wanted to make sure," Alfred mumbled messing with the food with his fork. The correct one, Arthur might add.

"I take it you don't like the food, aru?" Yao raised an eyebrow.

"It tastes funny," Alfred grumbled and Arthur laughed, taking another bite of the food. He still wasn't really paying attention to it or tasting it.

"This is supposed to be the easy part," Arthur reminded him. "You can stop being so stressed."

"Yeah, well, this crown is starting to feel heavy," Alfred sighed. Some servants came by, picked up the appetizer, and replaced it with a new dish, probably a main course. "And I can see Mattie serving these ungrateful bastards on the other end of the table…"

"Relax," Arthur patted his hand. "I offered Mathew a spot with us, but he said he wanted to work."

"At least he doesn't have to work the wedding…" Alfred sighed and picked up the next fork and knife he had to use. He took a bit out of the meal and apparently decided he liked it, because he started eating more.

Curious, Arthur cut his own piece of the food, finally paying attention to it, and ate it. It did taste amazing, and had the distinct taste of beef. It was brown, in a slightly odd shape. The inside was very red, though.

"Dude, this is amazing!" Alfred gushed and started eating a little faster, still obviously aware of the people staring at him. "What is it?"

"I think it's called a steak, aru," Yao muttered, eating his rather quickly, too.

"Steak?" Ella tilted her head, staring at the steak. She almost poked at it, but Arthur swatted her hand away. "Stuffy," she stuck her tongue out at Arthur and he rolled his eyes quickly.

"So, do you think it'll be nighttime by the time we're done with the wedding?" Alfred asked, in between bites of the steak.

"Maybe," Arthur shrugged. "Why does it matter?"

"My plan," Alfred winked, a little bit of his former confidence coming back now.

"Oh, God, that?" Arthur sighed, slouching slightly in his chair. His attention was dragged away, however, when he saw a flash of white hair out of the corner of his eye. He immediately turned around, straightening up. But he didn't see who he thought. He didn't see anyone. Arthur let out a groan. It had been a while since he had seen that Joker. With a warning like that, Arthur was sure he would come back to talk. Or maybe talk about what happened with Alfred. But Jokers did tend to keep to themselves…

"What's up?" Alfred asked.

"Nothing," Arthur turned back to his mostly empty plate. "Thought I saw someone."

"A fairy, no doubt," a woman near them laughed a shrill laugh and several other nobles joined with her. Francis seemed disappointed on the other end of the long table.

"Damn brat," Ella sneered and stared at Arthur, like she wanted permission to do something. Arthur knew exactly what, too, so he quickly nodded to her. "Sweet," Ella smirked mischievously and flew over to the woman.

"Don't listen to her," Alfred grumbled under his breath.

"And why would I care what she has to say?" Arthur grinned, leaning his arm on the table and his head on his hand.

Alfred glanced over at the woman and mouthed the word "Ella" to Arthur with a questioning look on his face. Arthur nodded quickly.

The mindless chatter continued for a while and then the steaks were replaced with a thin, green soup.

"So…they give us soup why?" Alfred asked, messing with the soup with his spoon.

"It's meant to go in-between to main courses, aru," Yao stated.

"Sort of as a break," Arthur shrugged as he took a sip of the soup. It wasn't exactly great, but that was a good thing for what was about to happen…

Just as Arthur got another spoonful of soup, there was a resounding clatter next to him and the woman from before screamed, quickly standing up. Her purple dress was covered in the green soup. Ella started whistling, calmly making her way back to Arthur and the others.

Immediately, the woman's gaze went to Arthur, turning into a sharp glare. "This was your doing!"

"How?" Arthur tilted his head. "I would love to know how I could manage to do something like that."

"That…that filthy magic you got sentenced to an asylum for, crazy!" she spat and all of the dinner's attention went to the two.

"But, I don't understand," Arthur responded calmly. "If I were crazy, then magic wouldn't exist, right? I didn't know you believed in magic as well."

"You…" the woman fumed.

"I didn't even go near you," Arthur said innocently. "I was just talking to my King. If you have a problem, though…"

"No," the woman huffed and spun on her heel, turning towards the door.

"Sorry," a man who sat next to her, probably her husband, stood up and bowed before running after the woman.

As the door closed behind them, Alfred let out a laugh, seeming to crack up in his seat. Francis joined him and, soon, the entire room was laughing with them.

"I feel rather bad for that poor chap," Arthur chuckled. "He has to deal with her…"

"I've never seen you be that awesome," Alfred laughed. Ella flew up to his shoulder and leaned against his cheek.

Even Yao was laughing slightly. "Bitch deserved it, aru."

In the chaos, the soup was picked up and replaced by another main course, some kind of pasta. Alfred quickly dived in, but Arthur was finding himself getting rather full, so he just nibbled at it. After all, there was still dessert left to eat. Everyone had resumed their own conversations now, so the Royals were left to their own devices.

"So, what did Ella do, exactly?" Alfred asked.

"She pushed the bowl over," Arthur shrugged.

"Ella, aru?" Yao asked.

"His fairy," Alfred said with a wave of his hand. "So…you just had her do it?"

"She wanted to," Arthur sighed. "Besides, she did deserve it."

"Fairy, aru?" Yao asked.

"You know what I was sent to the asylum for, right?" Arthur asked. "Fairies and magic, that sort of thing? Well, Alfred was able to get a glimpse at all of that before saving my life."

"I told you about Queens having a relationship with magic," Alfred sighed.

"Just be a little quiet about it," Arthur straightened the crown on his head. "I've been to an asylum once, I'm not very interested in going back, to be honest."

"Shì," Yao nodded, still staring at them oddly.

It didn't take long for the pasta to leave and be replaced with a white cake.

"Naturally," Arthur let out a deep sigh and picked up a fork to try the obviously vanilla cake.

"So, is this technically our wedding cake?" Alfred asked, taking a big bite. When Arthur took his bite, he had to admit that it tasted rather amazing. It took all the self-control he had to not shovel it in his mouth like Alfred was practically doing.

"And Coronation, aru," Yao reminded kindly.

"You as excited for the wedding as I am, Artie?" Alfred grinned and Arthur nearly choked on his cake. He had almost allowed himself to forget about the wedding. "I'll take that as a yes, bro!"

"I'm starting to miss the shy and nervous Alfred," Arthur stated after he swallowed.

"Hey," Alfred whined and tried to pout, but that wound up with his crown falling into his face. He had to catch it before it landed on his plate. He quickly put it back on before anyone noticed what had happened and laughed slightly. "I can easily say I miss poor, helpless Artie."

"I can't say I know who that is," Arthur stated. "As my name is _Arthur_."

"Whatever," Alfred sighed with a wave of his hand. "Same difference, if you ask me."

"I've never been a fan of nicknames," Arthur shook his head.

"Yeah, I can tell, stuffy," Alfred took another bite of cake, smiling slightly.

"Hey, that's my nickname," Ella whined and Arthur just laughed. He was surrounded by hyperactive children…

"When will this dinner be over, anyway?" Alfred asked, turning towards the windows behind him. The sky was still an orange, but slowly turning blue with the night.

"Soon," Arthur stated. He took the last bit of his cake and set the fork down. "This was dessert after all."

"I guess you're right," Alfred sighed. "I'm just trying to make sure we get to my plan on time…"

"I'm honestly very terrified of where this plan of yours will take me," Arthur shook his head.

"D'accord!" Francis stood up excitedly and Arthur rolled his eyes. _Here we go…_ "Now that everyone has had their fill, we shall get onto the wedding?"

Arthur slowly stood up with everyone else. Silently gulping to himself.

* * *

**Yay! Part 2 of this long night! This dinner was randomly fun to write, so that's why it took forever to end. And the reason I didn't have ARthur pay attention to the appetizer is because I had no idea what to put there. It's just very awkward... Anywho... next chapter is the wedding and the one after that is Alfred's surprise.**

**Please review!**


	23. I Vow To

Arthur stared at Francis. "Do I really have to?"

"Oui," Francis winked. They were standing outside the main hall, which had been slightly redecorated for the wedding."

"No," Arthur crossed is arms in front of his chest. "I'm not doing that."

"What's wrong with me leading you down the hall?" Francis quirked an eyebrow.

"Because I'm not a blasted woman," Arthur groaned.

"Ah, but it's your kingdom's tradition," Francis winked. "I cannot help what they decide."

"I'm not getting led down the bloody isle. Especially by you," Arthur glared at him.

"You have only a few minutes to get over yourself and you'll have to go down the aisle anyway," Francis laughed.

"What the bloody hell are they even doing?" Arthur sighed. "We've been waiting out here for ages."

"Are you finally nervous, mon cher?" Francis teased.

"I've been bloody nervous this whole time," Arthur snapped. "I just do a good job at hiding it. Better than Alfred, at least."

"You're running out of time," Francis chimed happily.

"Sod off," Arthur narrowed his eyes. "I'm not walking down the aisle like a bloody woman!"

"You have the crown for it," Francis smirked and tried to reach for it, but Arthur reeled back.

"Don't even think about touching that," Arthur snapped.

"It's no wonder no one likes you," Francis shook his head. "You're so negative."

"I'm not doing it, Francis," Arthur retorted.

"You know you want to," Francis laughed, winking.

"I do not," Arthur hissed.

"So, then you're just going to walk away?" Francis asked.

"You're not doing that to me," Arthur sighed. "I know what you're doing. And it won't work."

"But, if you do not walk down the aisle, you will be leaving Alfred all alone," Francis leaned against the wall next to the door. "You don't want to do that to him, right?"

"Stow it," Arthur glared at him. "I don't need you as my conscience."

"Your fairy's for that right?" Francis grinned.

"I don't need to explain myself to you," Arthur rolled his eyes. "And I have no interest in leaving Alfred alone."

"So, what you're telling me is that you will go in?" Francis asked.

"I'm not getting walked down th-"

"Ah-ah," Francis cut him off. "You said that you wouldn't leave him."

"Yes," Arthur stated. He knew exactly where this was going, he didn't even try to fight it anymore.

"And not leaving means you'll go in, right?"

"Yes."

"And that means that you'll walk down the aisle, which is the only way to get to Alfred?"

"Yes."

"And the only way to get down the aisle is if I lead you, non?"

"Just shut the hell up and get ready…" Arthur grumbled. Francis just laughed and stood upright from the wall just as the door opened.

"Shall we?" Francis smirked holding out his arm for Arthur to take.

"You're loving this too much," Arthur sighed and looped his arm in Francis'.

Naturally, when they walked into the room, an orchestra started and Arthur sighed, shaking his head. He hated feeling like a woman like this… But he saw Alfred at the other end of the room, after the long stretch of carpet Arthur had to cross next to Francis…

Alfred looked strong and confident, just like a King. He had on a huge, infectious smile that made Arthur grin a little bit, too. Arthur didn't feel any stress anymore staring at the man he was supposed to marry. This whole day was just too stressful and he finally felt that stress just lift off his shoulders.

It didn't even feel like too long until they were close and Francis left to take his seat. Alfred mouthed a quick "ready?" to Arthur as he made his way next to him. They were a fair distance away from each other, about as wide as Yao, who was standing basically in between them.

Arthur zoned out for the beginning of Yao's speech. He pitied Yao. He had to remember the entire ceremony and basically had to speak the whole time. Arthur and Alfred just had to say their vows and "I do."

"Alfred, your vows, aru," Yao said and Arthur immediately snapped out of his trance. It seemed like Alfred did, too. He suddenly perked up.

"Uh, right," Alfred smirked and stared straight into Arthur's eyes intensely. "I vow to keep you safe and protected and to make sure nothing bad will ever happen to you. To take care of you like a treasure because you really are one. To believe in fairies with you, even if I'm sent away next. And I vow that, by all means, you will never feel anything but joy and safety, with sorrow and fear the furthest thing from your mind."

"And you've surprised me yet again," Arthur muttered, smiling softly.

Yao took a second to come back to reality before he turned to Arthur. "Arthur, your vows, aru."

Arthur nodded, remembering the beginning of what he wrote. "I vow to never forget that I can never win against you. To make sure you don't hurt yourself trying to be a hero. That there is nothing you will ever say or do that will get me to stop loving you the way I do now. And I vow to never let the magic between us disappear."

"Well, then, aru," Yao muttered and Arthur could see out of the corner of his eye, the crowd actually softening to him. "I don't think I need to ask this, but Alfred, do you take Arthur?"

"Yeah," Alfred let out a small laugh.

"Arthur, do you take Alfred, aru?" Yao asked.

"I do," Arthur replied formally.

"By the power invested in me as the Jack of Spades," Yao smiled, "I pronounce the King and Queen of Spades married, aru."

"Finally," Alfred sighed and quickly closed the gap in between him and Arthur, pulling him into a close kiss. Arthur didn't even try to fight it and even moved his hand to rest on Alfred's face. They lingered there for a while before Alfred finally separated them. "Ready for my plan now?" Alfred whispered to him.

"What are you-" Arthur was cut off by Alfred picking him up yet again like a princess and started quickly walking down the hall and out of the room. Somewhere in the process, Arthur's crown almost fell off and he had to grab onto it. "Bloody hell, Alfred," Arthur couldn't help but let out a small laugh as Alfred started moving through the castle. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going through with my plan," Alfred chirped happily.

"What are you planning?" Arthur chuckled. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"You know, I've always wanted to do that," Alfred said excitedly. "I think it's really cool when the guys pick up the girl after their married and carry them out of the room."

"Very heroic," Arthur stated sarcastically and saw Ella fly just over Alfred's shoulder. She looked like she was sighing, staring starry eyed at Alfred.

"I knew you'd think that way," Alfred chirped happily, obviously missing the sarcasm. Ella still sighed dreamily and Arthur had to admit that his lack of reading the atmosphere could be quite charming sometimes.

"You're such an idiot," Arthur laughed and nestled a little bit into Alfred. He was quite comfortable…

"But I'm your favorite idiot," Alfred winked.

"Whatever makes you happy," Arthur shook his head and they soon got out of the castle. The sun was still high enough in the sky to give things a reddish tint, but the sky was mostly made up of stars and the moon. It was full, which kind of made Arthur laugh. "Where are you taking me?"

"That's a surprise," Alfred winked and started walking towards the forest that bordered the castle on one side. It ran all the way across Spades, next to a lot of major cities. "We still have a lot of time left, though, before it starts."

"Before what starts?" Arthur asked. "Alfred, what are you planning?"

"I keep telling you, it's a secret," Alfred winked. "We can just chill in the forest, right?"

"Um, I think so?" Arthur shrugged. "We should have left our crowns there, if we were just going to walk through the forest."

"If that were the case, we should have changed, too," Alfred laughed. "I don't think it really matters."

"You're hopeless…" Arthur sighed and Alfred finally stopped in a small clearing.

"Perfect."

"What is-" Arthur started, but stopped when Alfred suddenly sat down, cross-legged, still holding Arthur. "You can let go of me now, love."

"But I like holding onto you," Alfred hugged him a little tighter.

"And we can cuddle with me sitting on the ground," Arthur smiled slightly.

"Not the same," Alfred shook his head. "But, fine," he lowered his arms and Arthur quickly moved himself so that he was sitting next to Alfred. He leaned on Alfred's side, leaning his head on Alfred's shoulder.

"It feels weird now," Arthur muttered. "With everything being official."

"Yeah, it feels a little weird with your crown in my face," Alfred laughed and took off Arthur's crown, looking at it. "You would think they would make it look a little more manly, considering you're kinda not a girl."

"These are the crowns worn by the Royals of Spades since the beginning," Arthur stated. "The same exact crowns. Every Royal has worn them. They don't change."

"So, if I'm right, the last King died while wearing this crown?" Alfred asked.

"Don't worry," Arthur smirked. "They probably cleaned all the blood off it."

"Angry spirit!" Alfred yelled and quickly took his crown off, tossing it a couple feet in front of them.

"What?" Arthur laughed.

"Nothing," Alfred looked up at the sky. "Hey, do you think you could show me one of those spells now?"

"You want to see a spell?" Arthur quirked an eyebrow.

"Sure," Alfred shrugged, looking back at him. "Nothing too big, obviously. Just something basic. I didn't exactly get to see the last one."

"Fine," Arthur shifted himself slightly and raised his head up, off Alfred's shoulder. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing his energy. He lifted his arm up, his palm pointing toward the sky. "_Ignis_," Arthur stated and opened his eyes to see a small flame appear on his hand and started dancing across his palm. He made it move, going in circles across his whole hand.

"Whoa," Alfred laughed, staring at the thing, as if he was a moth. "That's so cool."

"I can't make it last very long," Arthur sighed, already feeling the energy drain from him. He released the spell, the fire disappearing in a puff of smoke. "It's been quite a while since I've even used magic…"

"Ella taught you, right?" Alfred asked as Arthur leaned his head back on his shoulder.

"Proud of it," Ella laughed.

"Yes," Arthur laughed slightly. "She's taught me everything I know. Which isn't much, if I'll be honest."

"Could you make, like, a wall of fire if you felt like it?" Alfred asked.

"I would probably faint from the energy I would have to spend," Arthur chuckled. "But, I probably could. It would be a far more complicated spell that that last one."

"That sucks," Alfred sighed, staring at the stars again. "Hey, what do you think those are?"

"What? The stars?" Arthur asked, staring up at the sky, too. "I don't know. All any of the scholars are saying is that they're orbiting around the planet."

"What if we were orbiting them?" Alfred laughed. "Like the sun? That'd be weird, wouldn't it?"

"You never now," Arthur shrugged.

"How far do you think the moon is?" Alfred asked. "Like, from the Earth?"

"Probably a while away," Arthur stated.

"I wanna go to the moon…" Alfred hummed.

"Well, when you find a way to fly, do tell me."

"What about your magic, dude?" Alfred laughed, lightly elbowing Arthur's side.

"I am not bringing you to the moon," Arthur shook his head.

"Why not?" Alfred pouted.

"Because I like you down here," Arthur smiled.

* * *

**There's some cute fluff for you all at the end there! I didn't use my Latin translator for this spell, because it was just the word fire, so google translate can do that right. Anyway, after this is Alfred's surprise and I can't wait for you all to see it! Anyway, not much to say here, except that those vows took me an hour! Alfred's were easy, but Arthur for some reason just didn't work with me!**

**Please review! I love your input!**


	24. Two Surprises

Arthur and Alfred stared at the sky for a while. Until the sun completely disappeared over the horizon, leaving the moon as their only light.

"We should probably head over now," Alfred sighed and stood up.

"What, you're not going to carry me there?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, that wouldn't be a good idea where we're going," Alfred laughed as Arthur stood up and dusted himself off.

"Well, isn't that reassuring?" Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, let's go!" Alfred said excitedly and started walking through the forest.

"Do you actually know where you're going?" Arthur asked, walking beside him.

"Pretty much," Alfred stared up at the sky. "There's a star up there that's supposed to lead you North. And I'm pretty sure where we're going is North of the castle."

"Whatever you say," Arthur put his hands up surrender.

"This is so romantic!" Ella swooned. "A moonlit walk through the forest! And you're walking to a surprise!" Arthur rolled his eyes.

Surprisingly, the two walked in silence for a while, Alfred constantly looking up at the sky to make sure that they were walking in the right direction. The only sound around them was crickets on the ground and the crunching of grass beneath their feet. Arthur noticed that it was probably mid-fall, which meant that if a war started soon, it might go into winter…

A breeze whipped through, moving their hair and sending a chill down Arthur's spine. He rubbed his arms to try and get them warmer.

"Cold?" Alfred asked, looking down at him.

"Just a tad," Arthur answered, shivering slightly.

"Here," Alfred quickly shed his jacket and held it out to Arthur.

"I'm not going to wear two jackets," Arthur shook his head.

"You should take the jacket," Ella whispered in his ear.

"You can give it back to me when we get there," Alfred shrugged. "I just don't want you to be cold."

"Fine," Arthur shook his head and grabbed the jacket. When he put it on, he found that it was a lot larger than himself. "Good Lord, how big are your arms?"

"Well, how tiny are yours?" Alfred laughed.

"Git," Arthur sighed. "I'm perfectly normal."

"No, you're a little tiny," Alfred grinned. "I mean, you're shorter than Francis and Yao and I think even Mattie."

"Oh, shut it," Arthur snapped and pulled the jacket in closer. He had to admit, it was very warm and it smelled a lot like Alfred…

"You look really tiny in that," Ella giggled. "But, adorable, too."

"Is Ella here?" Alfred asked randomly.

"Yes," Arthur said and Ella looked excited getting acknowledgement from Alfred.

"Sweet," Alfred laughed. "I can tell because you keep on looking at her and reacting to what she's saying. What's she saying?"

"Nothing important," Arthur stated.

"My input is very important!" Ella retorted.

"Do you know if any other fairies are around?" Alfred asked.

"I haven't quite been paying attention," Arthur chuckled. "There probably are. Fairies like the forest. Usually in the Summertime, regular people can see them, but call them fireflies."

"Cool," Alfred smiled and looked up at the sky. "We should probably turn now… So we're out of the forest."

"Fine," Arthur stated. "You lead the way."

"'Kay," Alfred chirped and turned to the left. Before long, they emerged out of the forest and onto what looked like a road. "Awesome, we're like, really close!"

"Where are we?" Arthur asked. A little bit to the right, there was a town with some candlelight shining from it.

"Home," Alfred said happily and started walking down the street.

"Home?" Arthur blinked and then followed after Alfred. "You mean we're where you're from?"

"Yup!" Alfred nodded excitedly. "And my surprise is just inside my house."

"I'm starting to get very curious what your plan is now," Arthur shook his head.

"It's pretty simple," Alfred said with a smirk on your face. "All it requires is this one party. As long as you don't act stuffy and mean, then my plan will unfold nicely."

"Your plan is to get me to socialize at a party?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "How does that work, exactly?"

"Well," Alfred smiled with a twinkle in his eye, "when news gets around that you're actually a nice, fun loving person, who really isn't crazy, but just acts like anyone else, then more people will get to like you. It's kinda like rumors spreading and stuff, but these are true."

"I'm not following you," Arthur chuckled.

"People see you're awesome," Alfred stated simply, "they tell their friends, they tell their friends, and it gets around. Simple."

"And this party is supposed to get people to see that I'm, as you say, 'awesome'?" Arthur asked and Alfred stopped in front of a house that seemed particularly bright and loud. The houses around here were pretty huge, Arthur had to admit. It was interesting, he had never really looked around at the lower class' housing before.

"I guarantee it," Alfred winked, putting a hand on the door.

"Here's your jacket, then," Arthur pulled of Alfred's jacket, suddenly feeling kind of cold, and handed it to Alfred, who slung it over his shoulder.

"Ready?" Alfred asked.

"As I'll ever be," Arthur shook his head.

Alfred's smile grew bigger and he opened the door, letting the volume of the voices get louder and the brightness of the candles nearly blind Arthur because of the difference from the darkness around them. There was a large group of people in the house and they all seemed to be dancing around and having fun. Completely unperturbed by the door opening up. Arthur could see Mathew, though, stop talking with some people and immediately come up to them.

"You're finally here," Mathew said happily as the two stepped in and Alfred closed the door behind them. "We've been waiting for you."

"Hey, everyone knows that the party doesn't start 'till I get here!" Alfred laughed and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Sure, Alfred," Arthur retorted and Alfred elbowed him lightly.

"Remember what I said," Alfred said. "You gotta be cool for these people."

"Whatever you say," Arthur shook his head. "I still don't think this idiotic plan of yours will work."

"Just listen to the music, dance, and have fun," Alfred said happily. Arthur noticed for the first time that there was a band of odd instruments playing near the center of the room. It seemed like the people playing the instruments had just picked up whatever was closest to them and played them. One of them was batting a bucket, the other smacking two pans together. One of them had an odd looking string instrument that seemed handmade. Though it was an odd mix, they made pretty fun, upbeat music. Arthur couldn't help but tap his foot to its beat.

Everyone around him was dancing to the tune. Some fast-paced dance that Arthur couldn't even begin to understand.

"You could try dancing instead of staring like an idiot," Alfred laughed, patting Arthur on his shoulder.

"I don't even…" Arthur muttered. "I don't know the dance…"

"We don't even know it!" Alfred laughed and started happily moving his feet and jumping around. "That's the fun part!" Alfred stopped. "You try."

"I feel like an idiot," Arthur muttered.

"You look like one as long as you're not dancing," Alfred poked Arthur's nose and Arthur just blinked at him. "Just feel the music and start dancing, it's not that hard, dude."

"I just…" Arthur muttered.

"Come on," Alfred grinned, grabbing onto Arthur's hands and started pulling them back and forth with him, making Arthur move, too.

"Alfred, you're being ridiculous," Arthur laughed.

"Nah, that's you," Alfred smirked. "This is like you teaching me manners. If you can do that, I can teach you how to dance, and not that stuffy dance, either."

"Which you skipped, might I kindly add," Arthur chuckled.

"Stop being so stuffy and dance," Ella sighed. "Oh, hey!" she said, as if she saw someone she knew and flew off in some random direction.

"Dance or I will be moving your arms for you the whole night," Alfred stated.

"I-I don't think I can," Arthur chuckled and Alfred let go of his hands.

"Then I guess we're doing my other idea," Alfred smirked.

"What other idea?" Arthur asked cautiously and Alfred quickly moved behind him, grabbing onto his wrists there. He started moving Arthur around like a puppet, vaguely close to the beat of the song. "Alfred, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm dancing with my husband," Alfred said nonchalantly and started making Arthur walk around.

"You're acting like an idiot," Arthur couldn't even try to stifle the laugh that Alfred was causing.

"I thought I told you that was you," Alfred smiled.

"Fine, I'll bloody dance by myself," Arthur tore his hands away from Alfred.

"Do it," Alfred laughed. "Right now."

"Alright, alright," Arthur sighed. It took him a moment to figure out the beat now that he was paying attention to the music. He glanced at Alfred, who had already started dancing again and shakily started doing the same as him. It was rather fun, Arthur had to admit. Most of his life, he had been instructed on exactly how to dance and this was just a "do whatever you want" kind of thing. It was refreshing, to say the least.

"See? Now you're getting it!"

"I guess so," Arthur laughed. He couldn't help but look at his feet out of habit.

"Your crown's about to fall off," Alfred smiled and Arthur's hands went up to the crown on top of his head. He had almost forgotten that he was wearing one of the most valued treasures in Spades.

"Bloody hell, I forgot I was wearing it," Arthur couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Hey," a new, unfamiliar voice said and both Alfred and Arthur turned to look at him. "You two're the new King and Queen, right?"

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "You look familiar, do I know you?"

"I was one of the protestors in front of the castle," the young man, laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was the 5."

"No way, dude," Alfred laughed. Then he held out a hand for him. "I'm Alfred. Nice to properly meet you."

"Marcus," the lad bowed his head politely.

"And I am Arthur," Arthur said nicely, he took a break from the dancing and noticed how tiring it really was.

"Yeah, the Queen, right?" Marcus rubbed the back of his head and sounded a little displeased. Then he caught himself. "Sorry if I offended you, or anything!"

"It's really no problem," Arthur laughed, really not caring anymore. "I've gotten used to people saying things like that saying things like that behind my back."

"Sorry," Marcus repeated. "You know, it was fine when I didn't know you. But now that I actually relate your name to a person, I feel pretty bad."

"It's really fine," Arthur chuckled. "I've stopped caring about what other people are saying about me."

"So…King Alfred," Marcus said awkwardly.

"Yeah?" Alfred asked hyperly.

"You seem kinda cool," Marcus muttered. "And there are some pretty good looking girls over there that I wanna talk to. Do you think that you could…help me talk to them?"

"Sure, bro," Alfred said happily. "Artie, you mind if I leave ya for a sec?"

"Sure," Arthur shrugged. "I guess I'll be fine."

"Sweet," Alfred winked and went off with Marcus, his apparently new best friend. Arthur let out a laugh, watching them leave, shaking his head.

"I heard the Queen was coming," someone laughed, coming up to Arthur and patting him on the back. "But I never imagined the prick really coming!"

"Um, thank you?" Arthur wasn't sure whether that was a compliment or an insult.

"Where'd your King go off to?" the man asked, staring off to where Alfred went.

"To help someone flirt with a girl," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Is it really true that you're insane?" another man came up to him.

"Oh, yes," Arthur stated. "I'm dreadfully insane. My fairy is flying around this very room."

"That's awesome!" they both laughed and Arthur chuckled, shaking his head. It was easier than he thought to get people to like him.

They were about to continue their conversation, when the door to the house suddenly burst open and a couple knights flooded in, followed by Yao and Francis.

"We received a tip that the new King and Queen are in here," Francis said assertively.

"Yes?" Alfred ran up to the front of the crowd, but Arthur stayed where he was, confused.

"Clubs has declared war, aru," Yao stated.

* * *

**Dun, dun, duuunnnn! That's all I can think about whenever I read that last bit. It's kinda funny... Anyway, we got to see Alfred's surprise. It was longer in my head, but it had to fit in this chapter and longness isn't exactly my forte. Also! The war is starting! And I bet ya that no one knows where it's gonna go!**

**Please review! It's awesome and it might get me to write more, which I really need to do... School is killing me but I still leave out the five hours a day it takes to write these things! Reviews really do help! A lot!**


	25. Stressful

Arthur sat in the meeting room, drumming his fingers against the table in thought. Everyone was arguing around him and it was getting hard to focus.

"We should just attack, considering its war," Alfred proposed.

"You can't just simply attack, aru," Yao stated. "It's Clubs!"

"What's so bad about it?" Alfred whined.

"We don't have enough men," Francis sighed. "Even between Diamonds and Spades, Clubs has more people in their armies."

_That's it_, Arthur thought, perking up slightly.

"Then we can just do a draft, right? "Alfred asked. "We can do that in times of war, right?"

"Hearts," Arthur muttered.

"You can't just draft people, aru," Yao shook his head. "It's not right."

"Alfred," Arthur stated, turning around to look at the arguing Royals. Around the room, there was a few members of parliament and a few high placed knights, but they were choosing to stay quiet while the Royals fought about what they would do next.

"A lot of shit in this kingdom isn't right," Alfred pointed out.

"That does not mean that you can keep doing that, mon ami," Francis sighed.

"Hey!" Arthur snapped, standing up. He finally attracted their attention. "What about Hearts?"

"What?" Francis deadpanned.

"Hearts," Arthur repeated himself. "Just think about it, they're the most populated kingdom out of the four. They aren't allies with Clubs. And I know they aren't allies with Spades, either, but the way this war might turn out, it will involve them eventually. Which means that they'll have to pick a side. We just need them our ours."

"What makes you think Hearts is a good idea, aru?" Yao asked.

"Seriously? Aren't they, like, known for surrender?" Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"That's only because they've left those duties to the Jack," Arthur sighed. "But, recently, Hearts has decided to switch the duties. Their Queen is still in charge of things like trade and deciding war. But the one in charge of their armies is the King."

"Ah, Ludwig," Francis nodded, understanding now.

"What does the King have to do with anything?" Alfred asked.

"King Ludwig is a very…active King," Arthur tried to explain it the best he could. "He's known very well for his military prowess. He was already in the army, a general I think, when he was crowned. He was well known throughout the four kingdoms before he was a King. That's why it was decided recently to bring the duties of army to the King of Hearts."

"Huh," Alfred muttered. "So, wait, you think we can get Hearts to side with us?"

"I know Kiku and Ludwig are level-headed people," Arthur shrugged. "And I know that they aren't idiots. We can use all the help we can get against Clubs."

"I do agree with what Arthur said, aru," Yao nodded.

"It is an impressive idea," Francis hummed. "Considering it's coming from you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Arthur snapped.

"It would take a few days for them to get over here from Hearts, but I'm sure we could get them over at least," Francis stated.

"We should probably check with the other nobles of Spades first," Arthur sighed, glancing at the other people, who were sitting awkwardly around the room.

"Why?" Alfred laughed and quickly walked out of the room.

"Alfred…" Arthur groaned and quickly went off after him, leaving Yao and Francis to work out the details with Parliament. "Alfred!" Arthur jogged to catch up with Alfred. "Why did you leave?"

"I was getting bored," Alfred shrugged and let out a long yawn. "And I'm exhausted. Aren't you?"

"A little," Arthur chuckled slightly.

"Sweet," Alfred let out a laugh. "Because going to sleep alone sucks."

"I'm sure it does, Alfred," Arthur shook his head.

"Hey, so since this is technically our wedding night, shouldn't we-"

"No," Arthur said quickly a blush forming on his face.

"You didn't even let me finish!" Alfred laughed.

"No" Arthur repeated. "You even try and I'll make sure you sleep on the floor."

"I love how you don't threaten me with kicking me out anymore," Alfred wrapped an arm around Arthur's shoulders. "You don't have to worry anyway, I was just kidding."

"Just kidding my arse," Arthur muttered.

"Francis was the one that suggested it to me in the first place,' Alfred laughed. "And I just said it as a joke. Don't be so stuffy."

"Whatever," Arthur sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, so is Ella asleep or something?" Alfred asked.

"Shit," Arthur groaned. "I don't remember her coming back with us from that party."

"You little douche," Ella's voice puffed and quickly flew up to them. "I see Gilbert and I go off to bring him to you and you just leave me!"

"You saw Gilbert?" Arthur blurted out and the two stopped walking.

"What?" Alfred asked and saw that Arthur was staring at the air. "Oh...Right…"

"Yeah," Ella crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned around. "He said he'd be around eventually."

"You don't need to act like that," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "Do you know what happened that made us leave?"

"I dunno, you wanted to go off and do that whole marriage night thing," Ella shrugged.

"No," Arthur replied bluntly. "We left because Clubs declared war."

"What? They did?" Ella asked.

"You know, as much as I like watching you talk to air," Alfred rubbed his neck awkwardly, "I don't think anyone else will. So, we should move this to our room."

"Fine," Arthur and Ella said at the same time and Arthur glanced at her before the three made it back to Alfred and Arthur's room.

The second they made it inside, though, and Alfred was closing the door, Arthur was met with familiar, beady red eyes. "Hey," the owner of the eyes, Gilbert, said happily.

"Shit!" Arthur reeled back, slamming into Alfred. As a result, the two slammed against the door and Arthur's crown rammed into Alfred's face.

"Okay, ow," Alfred stated, holding onto Arthur. Apparently he had just turned around when Arthur reeled. "What now?"

"That was freaking hilarious!" Gilbert cackled and fell onto his back so that he was just lying in midair.

"Hi, Gilbert," Arthur sighed and stood upright with the help of Alfred, who grabbed hold of the crown and took his own off.

"Oh, it's Gil, okay," Alfred said, walking over to the table, practically going through Gilbert if he hadn't moved.

"I wish this kid could just see me," Gilbert rolled his eyes and righted himself on the ground. "He'd be so awesome…"

"I take it you're here for a reason?" Arthur asked.

"I was trying to get a hold of you all day," Gilbert shrugged. "But you were always crowded with people, so it never really worked until just now, so… This is the best time."

"For what?" Arthur asked bluntly. As much as he had wanted to see Gilbert, there had to be a reason for his visit.

"One, congrats on not dying," Gilbert laughed, placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder. Arthur just blinked at him. "And, well, that whole coronation and marriage thing."

"Why are you really here, Gilbert?" Arthur asked.

"I'm just warning you about what's going to come," Gilbert's tone turned dark. "My last warning worked slightly, but not as well as I hoped."

"Not entirely my fault," Arthur stated.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, brainwashing," Gilbert said with a wave of his hand. "I already told you to stay away from that Ivan, you still know that. But I want to add something to that warning. Don't let him near anything you care about."

"I'm starting to get really tired of these cryptic messages," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"So, Gilbert," Alfred said. He was obviously trying to face Gilbert, but he wound up with his back facing him.

"Turn around, Alfred," Arthur said kindly.

"Hey, I don't know where he is," Alfred huffed and turned around. Gilbert grinned and moved to Alfred's right side.

"To your right," Arthur smirked. As Alfred turned, Gilbert flew over his head and laid on his back, relaxing. "Above you."

"Is he just moving around to annoy me?" Alfred groaned, looking up. Gilbert just cracked up.

"Mein Gott, he's a dummkopf," Gilbert laughed. He turned serious again for a moment and looked at Arthur. "Remember what I said this time." In a puff of smoke, he was gone.

"Okay, I think I got this right," Alfred said determinedly, staring down a wall.

"Alfred," Arthur said, but Alfred cut him off.

"Okay, fine, I'll try this," Alfred turned around.

"Alfred."

"Is he, like, below me or something?" Alfred stared down at his feet.

"He's gone."

"You couldn't have told me that sooner?" Alfred groaned and leaned against Arthur's desk. "What did he say to you? You were listening pretty intently."

"Probably nothing that important to you," Arthur muttered, yawning.

"You should still tell me," Alfred flashed him a winning smile.

"Just to be careful around Ivan," Arthur sighed. "I'm not quite sure what he meant exactly by it."

"Well, we don't have to worry about that," Alfred grinned. "If he gets anywhere near you, I'll snap him like a twig."

"He's not weak like Francis, Alfred," Arthur sighed. "I'm pretty sure his strength is somewhere along the same level as yours."

"And I'll still destroy him if he tries to do anything else to you," Alfred stated.

Arthur let out a deep sigh and started towards his dresser. "I'm getting tired of everyone being so serious. I'm going to sleep…"

"I'm a little tired, too," Alfred chuckled slightly and stripped off his shirt.

"I'm going to say this again," Arthur glanced behind him. "You try anything and you're sleeping on the floor."

"Just because I take off my shirt to sleep does not mean I'll try anything," Alfred groaned. "Seriously, dude, I'm not a douche like Francis."

"Still," Arthur shrugged and got some night clothes out, quickly changing out of his coronation clothes. He didn't care he undressed in front of Alfred, they had been living in the same room for a week, after all. "I take it you aren't going to dress in night clothes again?"

"What's the point?" Alfred asked. "These pants are comfy, anyway."

"At least you're comfortable in the coronation outfit," Arthur shook his head.

"Well, if it's any consolation, you looked pretty amazing in that outfit," Alfred laughed.

"Yes, well, I am not a fan of boots going past my knees," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You know, I can't help but wonder what our war outfits look like…" Alfred stared off into space.

"Well, yours shouldn't be anything, since you aren't supposed to go out on the field," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Hey, if Hearts can change their minds about what their King can do, then Spades can, too," Alfred crossed his arms in front of his chest like a child. Though, the effect was lost through all the muscles.

"We can decide all this tomorrow," Arthur sighed and sat down on the bed, slumping slightly. He really was tired…He was starting to have troubles keeping his eyes open.

"Right," Alfred let out a loud, deep yawn. He walked over to the other side of the bed and practically jumped into it.

"You're hopeless," Arthur chuckled and carefully climbed in after him.

"And your life would be boring if I wasn't," Alfred winked, poking Arthur's nose.

"My life would also be easier," Arthur laughed and placed a quick peck on Alfred's lips before nuzzling into his chest. He felt a lot drowsier surrounded by Alfred's warmth.

"You're really cute when you do that, you know that, right?" Alfred hummed happily and wrapped his arms around Arthur.

"Just shut up and sleep," Arthur sighed, his voice muffled by Alfred's chest.

* * *

**Yay! Cute, fluffiness! I think this chapter is what we call a filler. Because I was really lazy. There might be a couple fillers before the actual war, but I will try to avoid that. It's funny, I'm even daydreaming at school about what I'm gonna put in next. Oh, and Gil's back! Yay!**

**Review, please! I love it lots and lots!**


	26. New Recruits

Arthur stood in front of the so-called "new recruits" that wanted to join the military for the war. Most of them looked like teenagers, with a few adults thrown in here and there. Arthur had felt a little nervous before hand to introduce himself to the newbies. But this just made him want to crawl back into bed.

"So, are you gonna say anything or just stand there like an idiot?" one of the teenagers in the front row of three laughed.

"Shut up," Arthur sighed, staring at him. "I'm appraising you, for one thing, twat. For another, you won't speak unless spoken to."

"And who's gonna make me?" the lad teased. "Your fairies?"

"If you want, I could arrange something," Arthur grinned and he saw Ella rub her hands together mischievously next to him. "But I do want you to know something. Even if I do happen to be 'insane', I still have a higher rank than you. Which means you'll have to do whatever my insane mind comes up with."

"Like Hell we'll listen to ya," one of his friends chimed and about four of them crossed their arms in front of their chests.

"Then why did you join the war?" Arthur asked calmly.

"To make sure we don't get screwed over with you leading the army," another one scoffed.

"Hm, yes, well I'll make sure of that," Arthur remarked.

"You're not very intimidating," the first one laughed. "Considering you're supposed to be in charge of our 'big bad army'."

"Yes, and I'm sure none of the other Queens did, too," Arthur sighed.

"'Cause they were all women," one of them stated and that group started laughing. There were a few around them who were just staring at them. Arthur decided to just stand and stare at them, too.

"I didn't know assholes were allowed to become knights," someone in the second row remarked and most of the people, except for that four, laughed.

"And I didn't know someone could be so much of an idiot to actually like this Queen," the first one snapped.

"How about you shut the hell up?" another one, this one seemed familiar, piped up.

"Thank you," Arthur cleared his throat and started walking towards the four. "It's nice to know that not the whole kingdom hates me."

"You're actually kinda funny, I heard," someone laughed. "That party last night." Arthur blinked, stopping. Alfred's plan was working, how odd…

"Anyway," Arthur sighed, making the small side chatter that had ensued stop. He turned his attention to the four. "If you do not like it, you can leave. Or you could take your complaint to the one person who is higher than me, my King, but you might get your ass kicked. Or, if you want, you could get it kicked now."

"By what?" the first one laughed. "Your skinny little fist?"

"It make look a little simple now," Arthur examined his hand. "But I think you'll find that, with a little encouragement," Arthur closed his eyes for a second, imagining a fire and in a second, his hand burst into a flame, "it's a little more intimidating."

"Yeah, Arthur!" Ella cheered.

"Sh-shit," one of them sputtered, staring at the flames.

"So," Arthur smiled, lifting his hand up, which resulted in the flame jumping in the air and landing in his other hand, "I suggest you decide whether you want to stay or if you want to leave before this fire gets too hot for me to hold."

"F-Fuck this…" the first one who piped up ran away and Arthur watched him.

"Anyone else?" Arthur looked back at the people in front of him.

"H-H-How are you doing that?" one of the originally bad four asked.

"Well, you see," Arthur said happily, putting his hand down and putting the fire out. "I am a Queen. And all of the Queens are insane, just like me. So we get to do a few things that you can't. Any other questions?"

"Do you really have a fairy?" someone in the back row asked.

"Yes, in fact I do," Arthur spun on his heel and walked a few paces in front of them before turning around. "Now, I need to know the skills that you lot have. Since you've made it this far, I'm suspecting that you're good at something."

"I'm an archer," one of them spoke up.

"I'm a great swordsman," one boasted.

"I'm amazing with hand-to-hand combat."

Soon, everyone at once was talking and Arthur just stood there, staring at them, until they all noticed and quieted down.

"Now," Arthur sighed once it was quiet again. "We're going to do this in groups. Archers, move to the right. Swordsmen, to the left. Everyone else, stay in the middle and I'll figure out what you do."

"Nice group you got here," Ella giggled and landed on his shoulder. Arthur sighed and walked towards the small group of men standing in the middle.

"So, I know you said you were good with hand-to-hand combat," Arthur went up to one of them. "Could you explain that a little clearer to me?"

"I fight without weapons," the man(he was one of the few adults there) said. "Or a shield."

"I see," Arthur nodded.

"That could come in handy," Ella shrugged. "Maybe not very often."

Arthur went up to another one. "And you are good at what?"

"Demolitions," the boy said excitedly. He had fiery red hair that reminded Arthur of Scott. "I use dynamite to blow stuff up.

"Impressive," was the only thing that came to Arthur's mind, so he said it.

"Now, that could come in handy," Ella stated. "If he didn't look like a creep."

Next, Arthur saw a teenage boy standing a little off to the side, staring at the ground, and rubbing his arms.

"And what can you, do, lad?" Arthur asked him and he shakily looked up at him.

"Um…well…" the boy fiddled his hands together. "I was a little nervous to tell you…And…um…But when you…when you did that fire thing…I got a little more confidence."

"I wonder what he was like before," Ella chuckled.

"And what is it that you can do?" Arthur made his voice a little softer and tilted his crown a little higher on his head. He noticed that the sun was reflecting off it into the poor kid's eyes.

The teenager put his hands in front of him, his palms facing up. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes. "_Ignis_," the boy said clearly and a little louder than anything else he had said before. An orange flame appeared in his hands when the boy opened his eyes and he grew a big smile.

"Impressive," Arthur smiled as the other men around him gushed at the fire. "It's good to see another magic user."

"I-I like your fairy," he muttered. "She's pretty."

"Shit…" Ella cursed. "He heard what I said, didn't he?" Arthur and the kid nodded at the same time.

"How about I learn your names now?" Arthur asked, in a surprisingly good mood now.

"Samuel," the martial arts man said happily.

"Harrison," the demolitions man chirped.

"Timothy," the spell caster muttered.

"Very good," Arthur nodded and went over to the other groups to converse and learn names.

* * *

Arthur opened the door to his room and quickly walked in. He didn't even bother to say anything to Alfred, who was seemingly doing work on the desk. Instead, he simply fell face-first onto their bed.

"Rough day?" Alfred laughed.

"All of our new nights are teenagers," Arthur grumbled, turning towards Alfred. "I didn't know it was that difficult to just appraise troops."

"How many did you have to do?" Alfred asked.

"Troops? 10," Arthur sighed. "There was about 20 in each troop. Usually they were down to 15 by the time I was done with them…"

"What'd you do?" Alfred laughed.

"Well, the first one gave me an idea," Arthur smiled at remembering it. "Some git decided he wanted to be funny with his friends so I gave him a good scare."

"Was he making fun of you?" Alfred asked.

"Yes," Arthur sighed, sitting upright. "After all this time, I've finally come up with some good retorts for it."

"I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing," Alfred pointed a feather pen at Arthur. But he quickly turned back to his work. "So, any other important things today?"

"There were magic users enlisting," Arthur smiled remembering all the ones he found.

"It's 'cause you're just so awesome," Alfred laughed.

"They heard I was insane for believing in magic," Arthur sighed. "I'm sure at least some of them actually looked up the history of Queens. At least not everyone's forgotten about magic around here."

"So, how many are there?" Alfred asked curiously, setting his pen down like he just finished.

"Maybe 3," Arthur shrugged.

"Really?" Alfred stared at him and Arthur nodded. "That's awesome. We'll have a bunch of people running around casting fire spells and shit, right?"

"I suppose," Arthur chuckled and took of his crown, examining it. "I've noticed that a lot of the magic users are shy and not very outgoing," Arthur muttered. "Very quiet."

"Yeah, so?" Alfred took off his crown and put it down on the desk before standing up.

"I was wondering if you knew if Mathew had any connection to magic?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, I never thought about that," Alfred stared off into space. "It kinda makes sense. Since I have a little magic, but I can't do anything with it, maybe he sapped it all from me."

"Twins are a common thing with magic in the first place," Arthur stated. "It would make sense."

"I could ask him tomorrow, if you want me to," Alfred shrugged.

"I should ask him myself, shouldn't I?" Arthur asked and got up, moving towards the dresser to get a change of clothes.

"I guess," Alfred shrugged. "If that's how ya wanna do it."

"So, how was your day?" Arthur yawned.

"Not much to report," Alfred sighed and slumped on the bed. "Being a King is kinda boring, to be honest. All I do is sit around with Yao and decide shit. I wish I could have your job on the front lines and helping everything really get planned out. Rather than passing a bunch of laws in order to make sure you can plan."

"If you could pull it past Parliament, the job is yours," Arthur shrugged.

"Hey, could you come here for a second?" Alfred asked and Arthur turned towards him. He was staring at Arthur intently.

"Fine," Arthur sighed and carefully set down his night clothes on the other side of the bed before standing in front of Alfred. "Yes?"

Before Arthur could do or say anything, Alfred stood up and wrapped his arms around his waist. When he sat back down, Arthur was sitting on his lap.

"Hi," Alfred said happily, nuzzling into Arthur.

"Hello, love," Arthur laughed. "What's this for?"

"I haven't seen you all day," Alfred hummed. "I missed you."

"Sorry, but I was busy," Arthur smiled and nuzzled his head into Alfred slightly. "I will be for a while, actually."

"Yeah, and that sucks," Alfred sighed, holding him tighter.

"Alfred," Arthur said.

"Yeah?"

"As much as I love you," Arthur stated. "I do need to separate myself from you. To get changed."

"Fine," Alfred sighed, and let him go. Alfred quickly stripped off his shirt and got settled in the bed. "But we're gonna cuddle to sleep."

"Sure, Alfred," Arthur chuckled. "Whatever you say."

* * *

**A bit of fluff to celebrate the fact that this is the longest story I've ever written! My other longest story is called Freedom, you should check it out if you haven't read it already. Anyway, we still have a few chapters to go until the war ligitimately starts. Like you get to see battles and stuff. I'm trying to get to that point quickly, because I really want to finish this story...**

**Anyway...please remember to leave a little review there at the bottom! I've barely been able to get these out, but your reviews really keep me going!**


	27. Planning War

Arthur leaned on the massive table in front of him. The dining room had been made into a meeting room to decide military tactics with all three Royals. Arthur was very bored and very tired of them coming up with horrible ideas so they would have to make new ones.

"Okay, then what about the forest?" Alfred asked boredly.

"That wouldn't work," Arthur sighed. "Between Clubs and Spades, the closest forest is the one around this castle. And we aren't letting them get that close."

"Then how about we just charge 'em?" Alfred asked, making motions with his hands to prove his point.

"Aiyah! I thought I told you earlier," Yao sighed. "You can't just charge at them, aru! They're far to strong!"

"Fine, then I'm done with ideas," Alfred huffed and slid down in his chair so his head was practically level with the table.

"That only took 10 minutes," a Parliament member laughed.

"How about we figure out what we have first?" a high ranked knight, who was out of his armor suggested. This was Arthur's first time seeing this knight, but he was the highest ranked one in Spades. His name was supposedly Matthias and he had spiked up blonde hair with blue eyes. "You met all the new recruits, right Queenie?"

"Don't call me that," Arthur sighed and sat upright.

"He doesn't like any nicknames," Alfred pouted.

"Get over yourself," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"So, what do we got?" Matthias asked leaning back in his chair so that the front two legs were in the air.

"A lot of foot soldiers and archers," Arthur stated, remembering what he saw the day before. "Most of the archers are pretty accurate. There were one or two lads who knew how to work dynamite, supposedly. Then there was maybe ten who are skilled with different types of hand-to-hand combat. We also have about three who are skilled with medicine and fixing injuries, so we will have a few medics."

"Hey, any other 'magic users'?" Matthias asked jokingly. Arthur had stopped caring people doing that to him. But he actually grinned when he asked that.

"Three, actually," Arthur stated calmly and Matthias fell out of his chair.

"Wait, seriously?" Matthias peeked his head over the top of the table. Arthur nodded.

"For such a high ranked knight, I'm surprised you don't think magic is real," Arthur chuckled. "You could at least do your research."

"No way," he started laughing. "This whole Kingdom is so awesomely insane! We have people willing to run down the battlefield yelling out spells!"

"Way to go, bro," Alfred laughed.

"Okay," Matthias finally stood up and spread his hands over the map of the four Kingdoms they had laying out on the table. "So, with the foot soldiers and archers, we could make our way through if we go in about a straight line to Clubs. Our battle ground'll probably be this spot between Clubs and Spades that's just country side. I'm pretty sure they're already evacuated. The demolitions, we can put pretty close to the front. If we find ourselves overwhelmed, then we'll be able to blast our way through and continue through. That hand-to-hand combat isn't very useful considering that Clubs is starting to come out with that new invention that shoots lead. We could put them in the front if they felt like dying… Maybe if we keep them around the castle with a few troops of foot soldiers and archers."

"We can split up the attacking group into three regiments," Arthur suggested, standing up and pointing at the spot Matthias pointed out between Clubs and Spades. "That way they each have a medic, who can stay either near the back or in the middle where they're the most protected."

"Hey, what about chicks?" Matthias asked. "There's always one or two women who try to join."

"Two of the spell casters," Arthur grinned. "There are quite a few as archers and their aim was far better than any man trying to get in. There was one who wanted to be a foot soldier and she was pretty strong. Even I had a few problems fighting against her. And then there was one medic who is a girl."

"We'll put her up front, then," Matthias grinned. "The boys up there will need all the help they can get to keep their spirits up. The girl archers, we should spread out between the middle and the one in the back."

"Hey," Alfred's voice piped up and the two turned to look at him. "Shouldn't we be discussing this with the 20 other people in the room?"

"They're more here for decoration," Matthias said with a wave of his hand.

"The jobs of each Royal is that the Queen will decide the basic set up for the war," Arthur explained. "Then, it's up to the King and Jack for the tactical portions. Then the Queen will be on the front lines, either in front or in the middle, to give out the orders sent by the King and Jack."

"Except I'll be on the front lines with you," Alfred said pointedly.

"He's what?" Matthias stared at Arthur.

"I've learned that you just shouldn't argue with him," Arthur sighed and turned his attention back to the map. "What should we do with the female foot soldier?"

"Keep her with the hand-to-hand combatants," Matthias suggested, pointing to the castle. "It's wise to keep the strongest where you'll need them the most. And I don't trust any of our boys with her. That medic will be fine, because you'll probably be up in the front lines and you'll look out for her. And the archers will have each other."

"And, are you going to be doing anything with the spell casters?" Arthur raised an eyebrow and he heard Alfred get up and start walking towards them.

"What about one in each regiment?" Matthias suggested. "If they really are magic users, then they'll be useful, right? But we don't want to put them all together, especially if they're useless. So this way they'll be protected either way, right?"

Arthur nodded and Alfred put his hands on the table next to Arthur, leaning towards the map.

"Why are we fighting in the middle of nowhere?" Alfred asked.

"That's just a rough estimate," Arthur explained. "But we do want the fighting to occur far away from any citizens of either side. The way war works is basically who gets to the other castle first. In the past, when wars were won, one kingdom would take over the other, but we've learned that that is the best case. This war is also just one to settle a dispute, not really anything else. We can just say that we won against them and the terms of their surrender will apply until the next war."

"Okay, so we have to be the first to reach their castle?" Alfred asked, pointing at Clubs' castle.

"Or make them surrender," Arthur explained. "It's happened in the past. A Royal could get kidnapped and used against them and then they will have to surrender."

"Is that why you don't want me to go out on the front lines?" Alfred asked.

"Well, aren't you two acting all coupley?" Matthias sighed impatiently. "We do have work to do, King."

"Fine, whatever," Alfred groaned and turned around, leaning against the table.

"So, I take it Alfred and I will be placed in the first regiment?" Arthur asked.

"That would be the best position to put you," Matthias nodded. "The Queen has always been a powerhouse in the wars, insane or not, so we need you up front to plow the way for the army."

"And protect that poor girl you're putting up there?" Arthur chuckled.

"I'm doing what's best for everyone here," Matthias protested, smiling slightly. "I'll be up there, too, though. And I'll also have my team, too. Tino, Berwald, Emil, and Lukas."

"Good," Arthur nodded. Supposedly this team, though odd, was the most deadly in all the kingdoms. They all specialized in some different element of fighting. Arthur wasn't sure, but there was a rumor a while ago that Lukas had magic, but that thought was easily banished by people because he was so popular already.

"So, we should plan for the kind of formation they're going to take."

* * *

"Isn't it weird that we never hang out here?" Alfred asked. He was leaning against a tree next to Arthur, who was reading a book. Arthur had done what was required of him and it really was a lovely day, so he decided to catch up with his reading. Even Ella was lying on her back in between the two.

It was like the calm before the storm.

"Not entirely," Arthur shrugged. "The Royals are busy, they don't usually have a chance to do leisure activities. We only have this so they can prepare our transport out to where the troops will meet. We'll leave tomorrow and they don't want us stressed out."

"It's weird how fast this has all moved," Alfred laughed, staring up at the leaves of the tree. They were orange, red, and yellow with Autumn and the grass was starting to yellow. Arthur just prayed that the war would be over before winter hit.

"Perhaps," Arthur sighed. "I just have a feeling that if we didn't have eminent war right around the corner, we wouldn't have had enough motivation to actually do everything."

"It doesn't even feel like I'm married to you or anything," Alfred sighed. "We don't act any different."

"It would be weird if we did," Arthur turned a page. "We're in love, it's not like our status should change anything."

"I guess you're right," Alfred muttered. "You know, I've never really fought before, I don't know how I'll do in a war."

"Do you want me to teach you?" Arthur asked, closing his book. He wasn't getting any reading done anyway. He was just turning pages so that it looked like he was reading.

"Teach me how to fight?" Alfred asked.

"Just the basics, with a sword and shield," Arthur shrugged. "You'll need it where we're going if you want to protect me."

"And you can teach me?" Alfred raised an eyebrow, staring Arthur up and down.

"One," Arthur stated, "I've been trained in all types of fighting since I was a lad. Two, I'm a bloody Queen. Fighting is in our blood. Just because I haven't used any of it against you doesn't mean I can't fight."

"Fine, then, master," Alfred laughed. "Teach away."

"We should get swords first," Arthur laughed as they stood up. He lightly tapped Ella as he stood to make sure she woke up.

"One thing first," Alfred smiled and quickly stepped towards Arthur, cupping his face and pulling him into a kiss. Arthur happily closed his eyes and kissed him back, putting both of his hands on the back of Alfred's head. "We haven't done that in a while," Alfred panted when they finally separated.

"Two whole days," Arthur chuckled. "Quite some time, I'll say."

"We'll it feels like it's been longer," Alfred laughed and kissed Arthur's forehead before just holding Arthur's hand and started walking away.

"Alfred," Arthur stated.

"Yeah?" Alfred looked back at him.

"You're going the wrong way, love," Arthur shook his head, laughing.

"You lead the way!" Alfred stopped.

"Your hopeless," Arthur shook his head and started leading Alfred towards the armory, which held all of the weapons in the castle.

* * *

**So, this chapter introduced the Nordics. I don't know why I haven't put them in sooner, to be honest... But, they're like the Navy Seals of the Spades army. So, Matthias is Denmark, Lukas is Norway, Emil is Iceland, Tino si Finland, and Berwald is Sweden, just for future note. Not all of them have official names so I just went with what was popular. Sorry if it's a bit confusing!**

**Anyway! Please review! It's really, really nice!**


	28. The Stress Is Back

Arthur sighed heavily, face-palming. He was really starting to regret trying to teach Alfred how to fight.

"You're holding it wrong. Again," Arthur groaned.

"Well, how am I supposed to hold this damn thing?" Alfred snapped. They were standing in front of the tree they were at before and Arthur was leaning on his sword, whereas Alfred was pointing his at the tree, which was target practice.

"Dominant hand forward, Alfred," Arthur sighed.

"Well, what's wrong with putting my right hand forward?" Alfred pouted.

"You're left-handed?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," Alfred said happily. "Got a problem?"

"Only with your grammar," Arthur shook his head. "Now, just take a swing at the tree, I want to see how you do that."

"Sweet," Alfred smiled hugely and swung the sword rather clumsily at the tree. The hit, though, was perfect and Arthur could see some bark fly off the tree. "How'd I do, master?"

"I guess those muscles are good for something," Arthur blinked at him. He recovered, though, shaking his head, and started walking towards Alfred. "But, if you want to actually fight, you might want to hit a little softer so you can recover easier and actually fight against someone."

"Well, aren't you the expert?" Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a Queen," Arthur smirked. "Maybe if you get better, you could try fighting me."

"Maybe," Alfred tossed his sword up in the air and caught it with his other hand. "So, hit it lighter?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded and took a step back as Alfred took another hit. It still splintered wood everywhere, but it was less and Alfred's sword didn't bounce back, away from the tree after he hit it. "Very good," Arthur smiled. "Now try attacking it multiple times," Arthur stated, hoping Alfred would be good enough at that.

"Okay," Alfred adjusted his grip slightly on the sword and stared down the tree. Quickly, he attacked it with several blows in different areas, making marks all along it. Arthur was surprised at Alfred's speed and his blows were looking more and more even and less clumsy.

"I think you're done there, love," Arthur laughed eventually, stopping Alfred.

"But I'm having fun," Alfred smiled at him like a little kid.

"Whatever you say," Arthur shook his head.

"Sires!" a servant came up to them urgently and both Arthur and Alfred looked over at him. He bowed to them respectfully before he continued talking. "Clubs has already attacked one of the villages near the border."

"Shit," Alfred muttered and looked at Arthur for help. "What should we do?"

"We're already sending people out tomorrow," Arthur muttered, a little at a loss for what to do. "If they're already attacking after just two days, they must be moving fast…I think our battlefield will be a little closer to the castle than we thought."

"So…what does all that mean?" Alfred asked.

"We need to leave earlier," Arthur stated.

* * *

"What do you mean we have to leave earlier?" Matthias snapped. "We're already pressed for getting everyone and everything together! Let alone the fact that Tino and Berwald aren't even here yet!"

"Clubs has already attacked the villages close to the border," Arthur stated. "They're probably attacking one now. We don't want them to get any closer to the castle than that. Do you understand that?"

"So, what do I tell everyone that's not ready?" Matthias glared at him from his seat. They were back in the dining room, Matthias and Arthur sitting across from each other. And Alfred was standing behind Arthur. For some type of support or whatever. "Too bad, too late, we're leaving?"

"We need to do something," Arthur let out an exasperated sigh. "If anything…send me and Alfred ahead of time with a small team."

"What?" Alfred asked.

"With what? A couple foot soldiers, an archer? What good is that going to do against the entire Clubs army? We haven't even gotten a response from Hearts from your stupid idea."

"Really, now?" Francis' voice sounded off as he walked into the room.

"And where have you been for the past two days?" Arthur snapped.

"In Hearts," Francis winked. "I figured it would be better to talk with them there than they come to us."

"And?" Alfred asked.

"They are willing to help!" Francis smiled, smacking a paper with signatures on the table. "They won't exactly send their entire army, but they will send us men and even Queen Kiku is coming."

"Really?" Arthur asked. "How did you manage to do all that by yourself?"

"My negotiation skills," Francis smiled happily, examining his nails.

"And I helped him," Jack Vash grumbled as he walked into the room, glaring at Francis just as much as Arthur was.

"Details," Francis said with a wave of his hand. "The important thing is that we have three kingdoms against one in this war."

"And I just have a sinking feeling that Clubs has something up its sleeve," Arthur mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Alfred asked.

"That warning Gilbert gave me…" Arthur muttered.

"Hey, speaking of Gilbert, didn't you say you were going to talk to Mattie about that?" Alfred asked.

"Please don't remind me," Arthur massaged his temples. There was way too much going on at once right now…

"I could ask him…" Alfred suggested.

"No, I should do that now," Arthur stood up and turned his attention to Matthias. "We will leave tomorrow as planned. Just…make sure that there are absolutely no delays."

"Yeah, sure," Matthias nodded and Arthur turned to leave the room with Alfred following him. He could hear Francis and Matthias start a conversation, Vash staying quiet as usual.

"Where would your brother be?" Arthur asked.

"Normally, near the beginning of the day, he's in the stables," Alfred stated. "You sure you're not overwhelmed?"

"I'll be fine," Arthur stated. "I've been through worse."

"Whatever you say," Alfred sighed and they quickly walked in silence for a long time, until they got to the stables, actually. Sure enough, Mathew was in there, brushing a horse calmly. When he saw the two, though, he straightened up and muttered something no one could hear and bowed to them. "Please don't start doing that to me, Mattie," Alfred shook his head.

"Sorry," Mathew replied sheepishly, pushing up his glasses. "So, um, what do you need?"

"I'm going to be blunt here, so please pardon me," Arthur sighed. "But I need to know if you have a connection to magic."

Mathew just blinked at him, seemingly confused.

"Like, can you see fairies and do spells?" Alfred asked, trying to help.

"Um, well…" Mathew fumbled with his hands. "I can see something that reminds me of fireflies all the time. Especially when I was watching over Arthur that one time…And then sometimes I can see a man with white hair and red eyes with a little kid with blonde hair and blue eyes that no one else seems to see…"

"Really?" Alfred asked.

"Have they ever talked to you?" Arthur asked. "The man and the boy?"

"No," Mathew shook his head. "Usually I just see them walk around. Does that have anything to do with magic?"

"Sorta?" Alfred guessed and Arthur glared at him.

"They're Jokers," Arthur stated. "Do you know what those are?"

"The magical beings as old as Deck?" Mathew asked and Arthur nodded.

"Exactly. Most people can't see them unless they want them to and they use a lot of magic. Alfred was able to see them once."

"Well, just Gilbert," Alfred muttered and Arthur glared at him to shut him up again.

"So, what does that mean?" Mathew asked. "Am I useful?"

"Have you ever tried to do a spell?" Arthur asked and Mathew shook his head. "Would you like to try? If you can cast a spell, then you could maybe do something in this war. And maybe become very helpful later on."

"Um, wh-what spell could I do?" Mathew asked.

"Alfred," Arthur leaned against a wall. "Would you mind leaving for a while? For Mathew and I to see what his abilities are?"

"Sure, fine," Alfred nodded and stepped out slowly. "I'll just be…outside…and stuff…"

"Goodbye, Alfred," Arthur stated and Alfred closed the door.

* * *

When Arthur came out of the room, he found Alfred dozing off, sitting against the wall across from the door to the stables.

"Alfred," Arthur leaned down in front of Alfred and he could hear Mathew step behind him. "Alfred, don't make me pour water on you again."

"I'm up," Alfred sat upright quickly, his eyes snapping open.

"Wonderful," Arthur chuckled and stood up. He held out a hand for Alfred to help him up and he took it. He was very heavy, actually. So Arthur nearly toppled over helping him. But, Alfred stood up quickly, which led to Arthur falling into his chest.

"Am I a little too heavy?" Alfred asked teasingly as Arthur pushed off him, blushing slightly.

"Yes, you fat arse," Arthur teased back in return.

"So…what's your verdict?" Alfred asked, looking behind Arthur and at Mathew.

"The magic's not very strong, but it's there," Arthur stated.

"I-I can do basic spells…" Mathew muttered. "But, um, not much more that that…"

"So, he helpful or what?" Alfred asked.

"Considering how rare someone who can even use magic is," Arthur sighed, "he's very helpful. With what, I'm not quite sure yet…"

"How come I never noticed this kid before?" Gilbert's voice sounded off and Mathew squeaked. Arthur turned around quickly to see Gilbert staring down the possibly terrified Mathew.

"What is it?" Alfred asked, concerned.

"Gilbert," Arthur nearly face-palmed for the second time today. "We don't see you for weeks and all of a sudden you keep showing up…"

"Yeah, well, I heard myself being talked about," Gilbert laughed and finally looked away from Mathew, allowing him to edge away slightly. "And if I can find another person who can see my awesomeness, all the better right?"

"Let me see him!" Peter's voice said excitedly and he ran past Arthur's legs quickly, making Arthur lose his balance and fall backwards, into Alfred's arms.

"You wanker, watch where you're going," Arthur snapped and Alfred giggled behind him.

"You jerk," Peter snapped, sticking his tongue out at him. "You made me think you were gonna die!"

"I didn't do anything!" Arthur sputtered.

"You should be a little quieter," Alfred laughed and Arthur sighed.

"I suppose your right," Arthur sighed and finally stood upright, quickly dusting himself off.

"So, this is the new guy?" Peter asked invasively and stared down Mathew, who seemed to practically be terrified.

"Don't scare the poor lad," Arthur sighed, crossing his arms.

"You know, this looks freaking hilarious from my standpoint," Alfred laughed and Arthur glared at him.

"I'm sure it does," Gilbert grinned and turned his attention back to Mathew, too. "Well, birdie, I think you'll be pretty awesome. Just like your dummkopf bruder, but smarter."

"B-Birdie?" Mathew stuttered out. "M-my name's-"

"Yeah, yeah, Mattie, I know," Gilbert waved his hand. "I dunno, you just remind me of a birdie. All cute and tiny," Gilbert patted his head, "and you act like a shy, caged birdie."

"Adorable," Arthur sighed sarcastically.

"Oi," Gilbert snapped at him as Mathew blushed a little. "Do you want me to pop in every time you and Alfie do anything cute? Then again, though, that would be really tiring, since you guys do that _a lot!_"

Mathew laughed a little at that and it was Arthur's turn to blush.

"It gets kinda disgusting after a while," Peter snorted.

"And no one asks for your opinion, wanker," Arthur rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault you can see anything and everything."

"You don't even wanna know the stuff I've seen while Francis has been visiting," Peter shuddered.

"Oh, Gott, Francis," Gilbert burst out laughing. "It would be totally awesome to get to know him."

"I don't like not being in conversations," Alfred huffed and leaned against the wall.

"Get used to it," Gilbert chuckled.

Before Arthur could help it, he let out a yawn and suddenly became really tired. "What time is it?"

"Late," Gilbert and Peter chimed together.

"Y-You two should probably get to sleep," Mathew muttered. "Big day tomorrow, going to the battle and all that…"

"Shit, right…" Alfred groaned, sliding against the wall.

"Good luck," Gilbert laughed. "Don't die."

"Or maybe you should, jerk," Peter scoffed and the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"They seem nice," Mathew giggled and Arthur let out a laugh.

* * *

**Ugh...I barely got this chapter out... I've ahd so much drama and shit going on in my life... For the past two weeks, I've been one chapter ahead and now I have nothing written after this chapter... So...maybe I should be writing that instead of this, but whatever. Anyway! We got to see Gil and Peter again and that Mattie can do some magic. The problem is that he's not exactly that strong, so he will just be at the castle in one of those "just in case" kind of things. Next chapter, they get out to the war... Finally, right?**

**Anyway, please review! It may actually get me to write today. Since it's a Saturday, I hope to get a lot done.**


	29. On The Road

"Arthur… Why do we have to wake up so early?" Alfred complained, leaning on Arthur's shoulder.

"If you would prefer to walk, you may," Arthur chuckled. They were sitting in a carriage, one of a couple, actually, that was in the vast group of knights and soldiers on its way to meet the military of Clubs. "And if you're so tired, you should go back to sleep."

"Well, for one thing," Alfred stated, "I'm way too excited to even try to sleep. For another, what if we get under attack. If I'm asleep, my reaction time will be slower to save you and that's not acceptable for a hero."

"Sure it isn't," Arthur shook his head. Ella was sleeping on the empty cushion in front of them in the carriage. Arthur had decided it wasn't smart to wake her up, so just picked her up and brought her into the carriage.

"So," Alfred said, staring at the ceiling. "How's this gonna work exactly? Do we, like, show up and go into an epic battle or something?"

"We get to a spot more or less ahead of them," Arthur stated. "We set up camp. And then we wait. When they get close, then you can have your fight. But I would really appreciate it if you tried to stay away from the major battles."

"I'll do that if you do it," Alfred grinned.

"You're making things so difficult," Arthur groaned. "And I feel bad for poor Yao, he's being forced to basically work out everything on his own."

"Well, he's got Francis and Ludwig," Alfred shrugged. "I mean, it's not like he's totally alone."

"More alone than he should be," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. He looked out the window of the carriage and saw that it was still pretty dark, but the sun was starting to come up.

"I do feel kinda bad for just sitting here while everyone out there is walking," Alfred sighed.

"You know, love, me, too," Arthur stated. The men (and few women) didn't exactly look exhausted yet, but then again they hadn't been walking for too long… "Come on, then," Arthur grinned and opened the door of the carriage, letting in the cool air of morning and jumped out, even though the carriage was moving. Despite all of the soldiers around him staring at him, he just stared straight ahead and started walking.

"Dude!" Alfred burst out laughing, his head poking out of the carriage, which was moving at a slightly faster pace than Arthur was walking, so it was ahead of him. "That's freaking awesome!"

"Are you going to come out?" Arthur asked.

"Sure," Alfred laughed and jumped out of the carriage, too. His crown tilted slightly and Arthur helped him fix it.

"Well, isn't that brave of you?" a female snickered next to them. "Walking out in the cold, next to all of us."

"Sorry I didn't think of it sooner," Arthur smiled, staring up at the still slightly starry sky. "I hardly ever get to see outside…"

"Yeah, I have a feeling the Royals are banned from being outside," Alfred laughed.

"So, you've just come out for the view?" the woman's voice asked and Arthur finally looked over to her. She had bright blonde hair and green eyes, very beautiful. She had a bow and quiver slung over her shoulders.

"Well, I figured he should walk with all of you, too," Arthur said politely. "What makes us any different than you, other than a title?"

"Well, look at that!" Matthias chimed happily on the other side of them and leaned an arm on Alfred's shoulder. "I was wondering how long it would take you to hop out! My team didn't even accept their carriage."

"I was too tired to argue," Alfred yawned. "I hate mornings."

"Poor baby," the archer laughed.

"And what's your name, gorgeous?" Matthias perked up and looked over Alfred and Arthur at her.

"Evelyn," she replied, slightly flirtatiously.

"And this would be why we put Matthias up in the front," Arthur shook his head disapprovingly. Luckily, all the archers were placed in the middle and back regiments.

"Hey, I still got a chance with that medic," Matthias winked.

"There you are, you idiot," a new voice panted, like he had been running. Arthur glanced behind him and saw a young man, maybe in his 20s, with blonde hair with a curl coming off it and blue eyes. He looked slightly irritated.

"Oh, hey, Lukas," Matthias laughed, barely glancing behind him. "I just came over here because the Royalty finally came out to play."

"You really shouldn't have left us," another voice said irritatedly. Again, Arthur looked back and saw a young man with white hair and blue eyes.

"Is everyone coming?" Matthias asked. "Because I would prefer to introduce you all at the same time."

"Ja, we are here," yet another voice said. When Arthur looked around this time, though, there were two people. They were both blonde, but one was far taller than the other. The shorter one had brown eyes and looked very hyper. The taller one had blue eyes covered by glasses and looked very…stoic. The tall one was the one who had spoken.

"We were wondering where you ran off to, Matthias," the shorter one smiled.

"Okay," Matthias put his arms behind his head. "Queenie and Alfred, this is my team. The grumpy blonde is Lukas and the cranky dude with white hair is Emil. The tall one is Berwald and his partner is Toni."

"Don't call me Queenie," Arthur sighed.

"I kinda like it," Alfred grinned and wrapped an arm around Arthur's shoulders.

"Don't call me that," Arthur hissed.

"Oh, so you're the King and Queen?" Tino asked excitedly and immediately went up and shook their hands.

"Hello, nice to meet you," Berwald nodded towards them. Arthur noticed that they were all wearing the foot soldier uniform of Spades. A simple blue tunic and purple pants with black boots. Everyone wore that except for the real knights. Matthias should be wearing a suit of armor with the knights, but he apparently settled for the boots and elbow and knee pads. Alfred and Arthur were even wearing the basic uniform so as not to draw attention to themselves. Their crowns would come off when they made camp.

"Likewise," Arthur nodded and noticed that the other two decided to stay quiet. "I've heard about your team, but I'm curious, what are each of your specialties?"

"I've got archery," Emil stated. "I just left my bow and arrow in the carriage."

"Hand-to-hand combat," Berwald stated.

"I'm the medic!" Tino chirped happily.

"Magic," Lukas muttered.

"So, you're finally coming out with it, eh?" Matthias laughed and patted him on the back.

"Shut up, idiot," Lukas snapped at him.

"So you do know magic," Arthur nodded. "There have been a few coming out with it ever since I've been claimed 'insane'."

"Hey, speaking of that, I'm curious," Matthias stared up at the sky. "What kind of treatment did they do to you? I've heard about a lot, but you seem very alive, so I'm wondering what they did."

"Uh, Artie doesn't like talking about-" Alfred started, but Arthur cut him off.

"It's fine," Arthur sighed. He would have to get over it eventually. "It was the water treatment."

"Oh, right," Matthias nodded, like it made so much sense.

"Sorry, that sounds harsh," Tino's attitude deflated slightly.

"You shouldn't worry about it," Arthur chuckled. "I don't quite care anymore."

"And he's got me to protect him," Alfred hugged him tightly from the side. "So he knows he's safe."

"You guys are so cute!" Tino gushed happily.

"Um…thank you," Arthur laughed.

"There you are," Ella's voice sighed deeply as she flew up, right in Arthur's face. "You had me worried sick! First I wake up and find that I'm not even in the castle anymore! How could you not have woken me up? And then I find the carriage empty? You're such a bastard."

"Calm down, Ella," Arthur chuckled.

"I see they didn't knock all the crazy outta ya," Matthias laughed and lightly knocked on Arthur's head.

"He's not crazy," Lukas snapped at him. "You just can't see her."

"Oh, so it's contagious," Matthias laughed and side-stepped. "I see."

"You're hilarious," Arthur muttered sarcastically.

"What's up with Ella?" Alfred asked.

"She just freaked out when she woke up because we weren't there," Arthur laughed.

"You should have woken me up early," Ella stomped her foot in the air and turned her back to Arthur.

"She seems a little stressed out," Alfred stated as the team of five started their own conversation.

"It's the war," Arthur chuckled at how childish Ella was acting.

"Makes sense," Alfred laughed. "I'm starting to feel nervous, too…"

"Yes, well, I have no idea how this will turn out in the first place," Arthur muttered. "Even though we have the advantage, I just know that Clubs has something planned. But, I don't know what."

"Yeah, I know how you feel…" Alfred stared off into the sky and Arthur did the same. Almost like they were agreeing with their conversation, the clouds were gathering in a dark gray color.

* * *

**Okay, so I got three chapters written yesterday! I'm so proud of myself! That's what happens when you buckle down at sit at your computer all day. I'm not kidding, I left it to eat and get dressed, that was it. Anyway! They're on their way to the war now and the next chapter they get to see it for the first time. Also...so...many...characters... Why? Writing with more than even just four characters is evil. But that amount was killer!**

**Tell me how I did in an awesome review! I'll love you forever!**


	30. Terror Of War

"Arthur, is this okay?" Alfred grumbled, stepping back to look at his work. He was trying(and failing) to set up their tent.

"Great," Arthur sighed. "If we were 2 centimeters thin."

"Well, I don't know how to do this," Alfred snapped and set to disassembling the tent.

"Then why do you insist on doing it?" Arthur asked, walking up to him.

"Because I'm a hero and heroes can set up their own tent?" Alfred grumbled. "Because I don't want people to work for me? Because it's pissing me off and I'm determined to do this right?"

"Do you want my help at least?" Arthur asked.

"Nope," Alfred muttered staring to put it together again. "I got this."

"I'm sure you do," Arthur chuckled, shaking his head. "You're putting that in upside down."

"I know that," Alfred stated and turned what he was holding upside down.

"Your tent still isn't up?" Matthias asked, coming up to them.

"Alfred insists on doing it all by himself," Arthur shook his head.

"I was right," Matthias laughed. "He is the man in your relationship!"

"And what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Arthur snapped at him.

"He's right, you know," Ella snickered in his ear.

"Well, he's the hero," Matthias explained. "And you're the damsel in distress."

"I think I would prefer you to call me Queenie," Arthur rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky. It was going to rain soon, he could tell by the clouds. A sudden feeling of dread made him wish Alfred would just hurry up already.

"Scared of the rain?" Matthias teased. "I saw the way you ran for your carriage when it was raining on our way here."

"Not necessarily the rain," Arthur muttered.

"No way," Matthias burst out laughing. "You're scared of water, aren't you?" Arthur just glared at him.

"Shut up, you idiot," Lukas snapped at him.

"I'm sorry, that's just too funny!" Matthias held onto his stomach.

"_Conclude_," Arthur glared at him and suddenly, Matthias' mouth snapped closed. His eyes widened and his face contorted, like he was trying to talk.

"Should have thought of doing that sooner," Lukas grinned.

"It's a helpful spell," Arthur smirked.

"I think I got it!" Alfred said excitedly and walked up to the three. "Dude, what's his problem?"

"Tongue tied," Arthur laughed and turned his attention back to the tent. This was Alfred's best attempt, he'd have to admit. But… "It's lopsided."

"You're so picky," Alfred grumbled and went back to it. Suddenly, a drop of water hit Arthur's cheek and he flinched.

"You know, what?" Arthur mumbled and several more drops hit his face and head. "It's fine."

"Nah, don't worry, I got it," Alfred muttered, oblivious to the rain, which was quickly picking up into a downpour.

"Alfred," Arthur snapped and Alfred finally looked up at him. His eyes widened when he saw how wet Arthur was and the rain. There weren't any trees anywhere close to them, either, just a long, plain farmland.

"Right," Alfred chuckled slightly and quickly grabbed Arthur's wrist, leading him into the tent. Arthur released his spell on Matthias, who seemed to be gasping for air.

"What the hell was that?" Matthias snapped.

"What you consider insanity," Lukas stated and they walked away, probably to shelter.

"Sorry," Alfred said sheepishly when they stepped into the tent and Arthur started shaking the water out of his hair.

"It's okay," Arthur muttered and looked up at the top of the tent. Apparently, Alfred was smart enough to think of putting something above the top of it. "You had help, didn't you?"

"Of course not," Alfred laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I know you aren't smart enough to think of putting a tarp on top of this tent," Arthur chuckled but he could still feel himself shivering slightly from the rain.

"Tino," Alfred muttered, kicking the grass that lined the bottom of their tent.

"I suppose it makes sense," Arthur chuckled and decided to sit down on the grass. There was some supplies in the carriages; blankets, pillows, etc. But Arthur was in no mood to get them now. The grass was rather dry, too. Alfred sat down next to him.

"So, we just wait here for them to attack?" Alfred asked.

"We'll have scouts to tell us when they're getting close," Arthur explained. "We'll get ready quickly and then head out to meet them ahead of our camp. We're the first regiment, so if they get past us, there are still two more past us. And we have a team at the castle waiting to stop them if they get that far."

"I'm pretty sure they won't get further than us," Alfred said happily and Arthur leaned on his shoulder.

"Just in case, Alfred," Arthur chuckled.

"Adorable," Arthur could hear Gilbert's voice and chose to ignore it, rolling his eyes.

"I just hope this rain stops before they come," Arthur muttered.

"What if it snows?" Alfred laughed. "That'll be fun."

"You better hope it doesn't snow," Arthur muttered. "That'll cause a whole new set of problems."

* * *

"Sires," someone's voice cut into Arthur's sleep and he barely opened his eyes, seeing Matthias at the door of their tent. With a quick look around, Arthur was able to deduce that he and Alfred had fallen asleep leaning against each other.

"Bloody hell," Arthur groaned and Alfred finally perked up.

"Huh? What is it?" Alfred asked.

"If you two are done sleeping," Matthias rolled his eyes. "Clubs is close."

"Already?" Arthur quickly stood up. Matthias was already on his way out of the tent and Arthur followed him. Alfred was close behind. Arthur nearly sighed with relief when he saw that the sky had cleared up and that it was warm.

"Whoa, is it really tomorrow?" Alfred gaped as they came out.

"Yes, Alfred," Arthur sighed irritably when he saw that several men were already moving out.

"I have Tino and Berwald getting you two swords and shields," Matthias said. He seemed surprisingly serious, but that must have been from the war…

"Why do we need a shield?" Alfred asked.

"Because I am going out onto the battlefield," Arthur explained. "And because you insist on following me, you at least need to protect yourself so you don't die."

"Um, okay, then," Alfred muttered as Tino and Berwald came up to them and gave them both swords and big shields. "Seems kinda bulky, though…"

"It's necessary," Arthur rolled his eyes, feeling his stomach coil into knots with just the thought of going to war. They started walking, the other three staying quiet.

"So…" Alfred said, obviously eager to end the quiet. "Have you ever, like, killed anyone?"

"What?" Arthur turned to glare at him.

"You said you're an experienced fighter," Alfred shrugged, a little uneasily, too. "I just wanted to know. Because I've heard that war is basically a lot of killing."

"You really aren't helping here," Arthur stated.

"You should give _him_ your shut up spell," Matthias muttered, a small smile tracing his face.

"I'll decide who I want to shut up," Arthur chuckled. "So, I take it since you're coming, Tino, that means that the other medic is staying behind?"

"She'll be there to give extra medical attention," Tino said happily. "In case anyone gets hurt too badly for me to help them."

"Right, okay," Arthur nodded and turned his attention to Matthias. "Do you know if anything's happened yet?"

"Not that I know of," Matthias shook his head. "We aren't the first ones to leave, though. So I'm sure something's started."

"Most likely," Arthur muttered. He started staring at the ground, thinking and dreading about what would happen in this war. He had never thought about it before Alfred said it, but war did involve killing. Arthur didn't know if he was ready for that…

"Arthur, move!" Alfred's voice snapped Arthur out of his thoughts just as he was slammed backwards by Alfred, who was holding his shield in front of him. Even Matthias, Tino, and Berwald moved quickly out of the way as Arthur slammed onto the ground below him. Arthur heard several clinks against the shield and he saw arrows hit the ground in front of him. Arthur could feel his eyes widen and his breath quicken.

"Let's get going quicker," Matthias muttered as Arthur quickly scrambled to his feet and they all started running quickly. Through the pounding in Arthur's ears, he could hear the battle already and he started shaking even more.

"Thank you, Alfred," Arthur panted and Alfred nodded back at him.

"What I'm here for, remember?" Alfred smiled slightly, but went stoic when he turned and faced the battle. When Arthur did the same, he nearly puked. Already, there were dead bodies scattered all along the field and a lot more soldiers were wearing green and black than blue and purple. There were a lot in yellow and orange lying on the ground and it seemed like the soldiers from Hearts hadn't made it yet.

Arthur saw more arrows coming towards them and quickly hid behind the shield. He wasn't ready for something like this. He peered over his shield and could see kids slaughtering kids, kids slaughtering adults, adults slaughtering kids. It was horrible, and he hid behind his shield again, hoping to block it all out.

"_Concludite, concludite, concludite…_" Arthur chanted under his breath, hoping it would block everything out. It didn't.

"Arthur," Arthur looked up at the sound of his name being called and was met with Alfred's face close to his. He was hiding behind his shield next to Arthur. "You okay?"

"No," Arthur shook his head. He wanted to curl up into himself.

"Hey," Alfred gently cupped his chin, making Arthur look right at him. Arthur could hear more arrows hit his shield. "It's okay. I'm here with you, I'm here to protect you. You said you're a good fighter, show me."

"I can't kill…" Arthur muttered.

"Then don't," Alfred stated. "Hit them hard enough with the hilt of your sword, it'll knock 'em out, right?"

"I-I guess so," Arthur murmured.

"I know you can do this," Alfred stated. "You just need to think you can, too."

"I know," Arthur nodded. More arrows hit.

"Okay," Alfred glanced over his shield. "Well, I'll need you to get it together a little sooner because there are some people coming closer."

"What?" Arthur snapped. "I-I can't…I…"

"Come on, I'll help you," Alfred said, glancing up again. "Quickly. First, stand up." Alfred slowly stood up and Arthur followed suit, a little shakily. "See? Easy," Alfred smiled and looked again. "You should block."

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Block!" Alfred cringed and a sword slammed into his shield. Before Arthur could even think, he flung his sword in front of himself, effectively blocking a sword strike from a young man in front of him. Easily, and without much thought, Arthur slammed his sword against him again and the boy's grip loosened. Arthur attacked again and the sword flew out of the boy's hand. The kid looked terrified and Arthur winced slightly, but quickly flipped the swords around and slammed the hilt against the top of his head so the fell onto the ground.

"A little help here, if you wouldn't mind," Alfred called out and Arthur turned towards him. Alfred was barely able to block all of the attacks a fully grown and far more experienced soldier was giving to his shield.

Without thinking, Arthur dropped his shield and quickly came in between the man and Alfred, his sword blocking the man's. The man recovered quickly and sent several blows against Arthur, who blocked all of them easily. The man was strong, but his technique was slightly sloppy. Arthur easily found a spot in the man's strikes that was slow and took advantage of it.

When the man swung back, Arthur slammed his sword against his, knocking that, too, out of his hands. He did the same thing he did to the kid, hitting his head with the hilt of his sword.

"Thanks," Alfred panted.

"Thank you," Arthur adjusted the grip on his sword. "You helped me get over myself."

* * *

**Fight scenes...Evil... I feel like the war started a little too quickly, but I tried my best to make it flow smoothly. Anyway, I'm pretty psyched because I just signed up for NaNoWriMo! Not as rexlover180, I'm undercover... But, anyway, back to this story. I've gotten so much written over this weekend, so there is no way I will be behind. I'll finish this pretty soon, by the end of this month, for sure.**

**Anywho...please tell me what you thought! It's starting to get intense and I'm wondering how I'm doing with that.**


	31. A Total Trap

Arthur paced in his tent, worrying about what could possibly be taking Alfred so long. It had been about a month into the war. Maybe two, Arthur couldn't tell anymore. There had been a stand still for a while, but when Hearts finally came in with Queen Kiku, they managed to move a couple feet in the direction of Clubs.

Alfred was currently getting Kiku and Matthias for a meeting and he had been gone for a while. In the first few days, they had finally gotten blankets and such into the tent. There was a pile of blankets and pillows in one corner of the tent for sleeping. And then there was a map laid on a large board of wood on the ground on the other side. It had pins everywhere on it, where their camps were, where Clubs' suspected camps were. Everything.

"Hey," Alfred said, flying the flaps of the tent open, letting in more cold air than there already was. "Sorry we're late." He stepped in with Kiku and Matthias.

"About time," Arthur muttered. "What took you so long?"

"I was on the battlefield, Queenie," Matthias rolled his eyes. "Where you should be."

"We also need to figure out a new strategy," Arthur rolled his eyes. "To loose less men than we already have. And to actually make progress."

"Hai, I agree with Arthur-san," Kiku stated. "We should find a new strategy, one that works."

"And what do you propose?" Matthias sighed.

"Probably the same thing they're doing," Arthur stated. "No one has seen either the King, Queen, or Jack of Clubs out there. This leads me to believe that they're doing some form of a sneak attack. I suggest we do the same."

"Well, what are they doing taking so long to do a sneak attack?" Alfred asked.

"Just think about it," Arthur stated. "It's obvious Clubs isn't putting all their effort into this. They're the strongest, most populated kingdom in the world. And they're putting out young boys and men over the age of 40. No one has seen their Queen, who is supposed to be out on the battlefield. Where are they?"

"It may not be a sneak attack," Matthias muttered and looked down at the map. "We think that they have a camp in one of the towns right on the border, right? Maybe they're there as a last defense in case we try to get into Clubs. And we've just learned that there's a forest pretty close to there, too. Perfect for a surprise attack in case people try to jump them."

"So, they're putting everyone on the border?" Alfred asked.

"We've put a few of our best men back at our castle," Arthur muttered. "It serves as a last defense."

"Are you saying we should go over there and see what they're doing?" Kiku asked.

"It's worth a shot," Arthur stated. "We could send a scout party. Say, Alfred, myself, and your team, Matthias."

"It won't even be a day's journey from here," Matthias stared at the map. "Maybe just a few hours."

"Then the least we can do is check it out," Alfred said.

"Kiku, will you be alright here on your own?" Arthur asked.

"Hai, I'll be fine," Kiku nodded.

"Good, then we should leave now," Arthur said, staring at Matthias.

"I'll get my team," Matthias nodded and ran out of the tent. A cold wind stung Arthur's face as he watched him leave.

"It's getting cold outside," Arthur sighed.

"I can tell," Alfred shivered, rubbing his arms for warmth.

"We'll need to get this over before winter," Arthur muttered. "The snow will be a weapon against all of us."

* * *

"The sun's about to go down," Alfred said, staring up at the sky. They were all shivering, it was getting so cold.

"I can see that, Alfred," Arthur sighed.

"You know, I can't help but think this is going to be a trap," Matthias muttered. "They were being so obvious about it."

"That's why we're sneaking around, idiot" Lukas sighed. The five elite members, they were the ones that seemed less perturbed by the snow. Arthur just supposed that it was because they were from the Northern part of Spades, where it was this cold year round and only stopped snowing in the summer.

"This is so cool, though!" Tino said excitedly. "We're just sneaking around and hiding from Clubs!"

"You should be quiet," Berwald stated and Tino hushed up a little bit.

"Is Ella here?" Alfred asked quietly.

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "She's been a bit quiet since the war started. It's affecting her a lot more than me."

"She's okay, though?" Alfred asked and Arthur nodded.

"Yes," he looked at his shoulder, where Ella was sitting. She smiled at Alfred, but kept pretty quiet. "She appreciates your concern."

"I'm starting to think I'm going insane with ya," Matthias laughed. "Maybe I'm seeing fairies, too."

"Exhaustion will do that to you," Arthur grinned.

"Be quiet," Emil shushed them and they all crouched down, scattering slightly. They had made it into the small stretch of forest a while ago.

"Why?" Alfred asked quietly.

"He's an archer, remember?" Arthur whispered. "His eyesight is amazing."

Sure enough, an arrow whizzed past their heads and hit the dead center of a tree. It was shot far faster than any of the arrows they had seen on the battlefield.

"Move," Matthias ordered and everyone scattered. Arthur moved quickly with Alfred, their sheathed swords at their waists hitting against their legs as they ran. A few arrows narrowly missed them as they ran, but they were eventually stopped by a small lake. It's diameter wasn't very large, but it looked very deep.

"Okay, that's bad," Alfred muttered and turned around quickly. Arthur moved away from him, trying to look into the forest to see if he could find anyone.

"It gets worse," Arthur muttered. "I can see people coming."

"I think I see o-gah!" Alfred grunted and Arthur turned around, finding an arrow sticking out of one of Alfred's arms. He was holding onto it with his other arm. Arthur saw someone coming out of the woods with their bow poised and an arrow pointed right at Alfred. He released his arrow and it hit right in Alfred's other arm. He yelled out in pain again and stumbled backwards. That wound up with his feet only half on the ledge between him and the lake. He tried to regain his balance, but he couldn't move his arms, so he fell in the water.

Arthur saw the archer poise an arrow at him as Alfred tried to surface the water, which was starting to turn slightly red with the blood coming from his arms.

"Arthur!" he called out and started sinking. His arms still had the arrows in them.

"_Ignis!_" Lukas' voice called out and a ball of fire rammed into the archer, making him falter back. The arrow he had poised shot into the tree to Arthur's right. Emil came out, too, quickly shooting arrows at the soldiers coming on Arthur's other side.

"Get him," Emil stated.

"We have this covered, alright?" Lukas turned towards the oncoming group.

Arthur shakily nodded and turned towards the lake. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, running and then jumping into the lake. Almost immediately, when he hit the water, his body froze and his eyes snapped open. All he could see was the blue of the water and he was terrified something would force him down, to the bottom.

He accidentally let out a breath and had to resurface in order to get air. Since he couldn't swim, though, it was hard for him to stay up for long enough. Once he got a good breath and calmed his nerves, he went back under and started clumsily kicking towards the bottom, where Alfred was slowly floating up from with his eyes closed.

Still shaking, Arthur grabbed onto his arms and started kicking upwards. Even underwater, Alfred was very heavy and it only got worse as they resurfaced.

"_Dā m_-" Arthur tried to say a spell, but got pulled underwater before he could finish it. When he resurfaced again, he quickly said the whole thing. "_Dā mihi virtuē_," he managed out and suddenly Alfred became lighter. He quickly kicked through the water until they were close to the shore and shoved Alfred over the edge and onto the grass. Apparently, the arrows had fallen off his arms.

Then, Arthur heaved himself out of the water and quickly crawled away from the water, trembling something terrible. He felt about ready to throw up and his vision was tunneling. _Never again_, he thought to himself. He could vaguely hear the people fighting around him as he looked up to see if Alfred was okay, but he was still lying unconscious on the ground.

"Alfred?" Arthur shakily crawled over to him and roughly shoved him. Alfred didn't stir. "Shit, no," Arthur mumbled and, with shaky hands, turned him so that he was lying on his back. He had been taught a while ago generally what to do to a person who had drowned. He placed both his hands somewhere in between Alfred's chest and his stomach and started pushing down on it.

It felt like time was moving slower and Arthur was shaking even more now. "Alfred! Please!" Arthur kept on pushing, but tears were starting to form in his eyes. "Dammit, Alfred! Come back!"

Alfred's face stayed the same, even through all of Arthur's efforts. "Revenī," Arthur felt tears fall from his face and saw them hit Alfred. "Revenī…"

All of a sudden, Alfred made a weird gargling noise and started coughing, rolling over, onto his side. Arthur backed off a little, tears still pooling in his eyes. Alfred's eyes were snapped open as he coughed up water onto the grass next to him.

"Alfred…" Arthur sighed with relief.

"My arms hurt," Alfred croaked.

"They should, you just got shot," Arthur muttered, not able to hide the smile on his face.

"Why are you crying?" Alfred tried to get himself to sit up, but winced at the pain and just laid back down.

"N-No reason," Arthur quickly wiped the tears from his eyes.

"You're wet," Alfred muttered.

"Because I dove in to save your fat arse," Arthur chuckled and could still feel himself shaking.

"You went in the water?" Alfred asked.

"And I am _never_ doing it again," Arthur chuckled.

"If you two are done," Emil sighed, kneeling next to them and firing off arrow after arrow from his quiver, "we need to get moving."

"Right," Alfred nodded.

"Do you think you can walk?" Arthur asked.

"I'll be fine," Alfred stated and Arthur quickly helped him sit up and then stand.

"Let's go," Lukas stated and they started running from the seemingly endless pack of troops going after them. Alfred seemed to be constantly wincing at his arms and Arthur wouldn't blame him. There were holes in his sleeves and his skin. He was still bleeding slightly and Arthur grimaced.

"Do we know where we're going?" Arthur asked.

"Matthias, Berwald, and Tino went off separately to make a small, discreet camp for us," Emil informed. "All we know is their general location, so we can find them from that."

"Tino brought his medic stuff, right?" Alfred winced.

"Yes," Lukas nodded and they ran the rest of the way in silence. Eventually, in the trees, they saw a green tarp that had been covered in mud as a form of camouflage. When they rounded on the other side of the tarp they saw a small fire being made and the other three sitting there.

"So you are alive," Matthias said happily.

"Barely," Arthur sighed and Alfred clumsily sat down next to the fire.

"Tino, do you think you could patch up my arms?" Alfred asked.

"Sure thing!" Tino nodded and dug in the bag that he brought with him.

"Why are you both wet?" Matthias asked.

"Alfred fell in a lake," Arthur sighed. "And I had to save him."

"Oh, so you got over your fear, eh?" Matthias laughed.

"Not really," Arthur glared at him and sat down next to the small fire. "It's getting dark out, will we have to wait until tomorrow to get back."

"Unless you two want to lose your toes," Matthias stated. "You two should stay by the fire, but make sure that it doesn't get big enough or sends out too much smoke for them to see us."

"Yeah, sure," Alfred nodded. Arthur looked back at him and saw him shivering with his shirt off. And it looked like Tino was working on his arm with a needle and thread. He looked like he was doing everything in his power not to scream in pain.

"It wouldn't be smart for us to sleep," Emil stated. "It's never good to sleep in the cold."

"I know that," Matthias nodded. "Especially you two, now that you're wet.

"So, we just sit and wait for morning to come?" Arthur asked.

"Pretty much," Lukas stated.

"I'll keep watch for them first," Emil said, switching his bow and quiver to his other arm.

"I knew this would be a trap," Lukas sighed, sitting down.

"But, we're all okay, right?" Alfred's voice cracked throughout it, obviously because of the pain.

* * *

**I feel mean. I just left when they were in the midst of the battlefield and in a high stress situation. But, whatever. You only have to wait a day for the next one...We got to see here Arthur conquering his fear, at least for long enough to save Alfred. That bit seemed a little rushed when I reread it, but I'm far to lazy to fix it, so, you'll just have to deal. Next chapter...well...I don't feel like giving hints for that one.**

**Oh! And I forgot to do this earlier, but I give credit to SheenasTears for giving me translations for Latin! They were so awesome and helpful!**

**Please review!**


	32. It's Cold Inside

Arthur was freezing. They had only brought two blankets and Alfred and Arthur were wearing those. And the small fire was doing nothing to warm them. Arthur had lost feeling in his fingers and toes hours ago. And the sun still wasn't fully up.

"M-Maybe we sh-should talk," Alfred shivered. Everyone but Berwald was sitting around the fire. It was Berwald's turn to keep watch. "I-I've heard th-that helps keep us f-f-focused and not fall a-a-asleep…"

"H-How are your arms?" Arthur managed out. He was feeling dreadfully tired and the others were having a hard time keeping their eyes open.

"Fine," Alfred muttered.

"I-It'll hurt for a while," Tino said, still somehow slightly cheerful. "B-But you'll be able t-to use them s-soon."

"Damn, this is f-f-fall," Matthias grumbled. "Why the h-hell is it so cold?"

"Because it's close to winter, idiot," Lukas muttered. Emil and Lukas were the only ones that looked at least a little cold, but didn't show it. Maybe that was because they never really showed emotions in the first place…

"Sh-sh-shut up," Matthias snapped in return.

"Y-You shouldn't have d-d-dove in for me," Alfred muttered.

"Wh-what?" Arthur glared at him.

"Th-then you would be b-better off, right?" Alfred forced out a small smile.

"I-I would be w-worse off…" Arthur muttered and looked up at his bangs, which were coated in ice because they were wet earlier.

"D-Don't try to be cute," Matthias groaned, rolling his eyes.

"I-It's a fact…" Arthur stared at the fire. Ella was resting right up against it, desperately trying to get warm, too. "Wh-when one R-Royal dies…s-s-so do all the others."

"What?" Alfred asked and, by the looks on all the other's faces, they were thinking the same thing.

"Wh-when a R-Royal dies," Arthur muttered, practically forcing the words out, "th-their clock s-starts finding a n-new Royal…Th-the current Royals a-are connected, d-destined to be t-t-together. So…th-the others d-die to get a n-new set of R-Royals. Ones th-that have a c-c-connection."

"So that's how the last Queen died," Emil muttered, reaching his hands out to their pathetic fire.

"So…if…if one of us d-d-dies…" Alfred stuttered. "We all d-do?"

"E-Exactly," Arthur nodded.

"Y-You guys have your c-clocks, right?" Matthias asked.

Alfred and Arthur nodded. "P-Pocket," Arthur stated.

"Right…" Matthias stared down at the fire, too. "Th-this damn thing sh-should be bigger."

"If you want them to find us," Lukas shivered.

"If they were t-trying," Matthias said through clenched teeth, "they w-would be here by n-now."

"H-he has a p-point, guys," Tino chimed. "We should just…make it b-bigger."

"A-All in favor?" Matthias asked.

"Aye," Arthur, Alfred, Tino, and even Emil stated. Lukas just rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded like a yes.

"S-S-Sweet," Matthias smiled and picked up the pile of twigs they were using for kindling and quickly shoved them into the fire. It immediately got a little bigger and brighter. Most of all, though, warmer.

"My shift is over," Berwald stated, coming back up to the group.

"H-Hell am I going out there again," Matthias muttered.

"I-I'll go," Arthur muttered.

"N-No," Alfred shook his head. "I-It's too c-cold to be a-away from the fire."

"I-I have some of my own, r-remember?" Arthur smiled slightly. He moved his hand forward and a fire lit on it. He had completely forgotten he could do that, and apparently so did Lukas, because he rolled his eyes and groaned. With the fire on his hand, Arthur was already starting to feel warmer.

"J-Just be c-c-careful," Alfred stared at him.

"Wh-why aren't you going, hero?" Matthias rolled his eyes.

"I-I can't even s-s-stand on my own," Alfred grumbled, staring at the ground.

Arthur nodded at them and started away from the fire. Ella followed him and landed right next to his hand, close to the fire.

"G-G-God, it's freezing," Ella muttered.

"I-I'm aware of th-that," Arthur rolled his eyes slowly and a bit painfully. He came up to a tree a good ways away from their camp and leaned against it. He pulled the blanket close to him for warmth. He wanted to make his fire a little bigger, but he was slightly scared of getting caught.

"You're sure that's him?" a voice he didn't know said and Arthur's attention perked up.

"Way to give your position away," another voice whispered, that one sounded familiar. "And, yes, that's him."

"Should I get him?" the first one asked and Arthur could feel his heartbeat in his ears. He took a few steps back, forgetting about the cold slightly. He was about two seconds away from running back to the camp.

"Yes." Two seconds too late.

Two people dropped down on either side of him and swiftly and roughly grabbed onto his arms, making sure he couldn't move away. But that didn't stop Arthur from trying to fight back. He could hear the leaves on the ground rustle about with his fighting. He was about to yell of help, but the second his mouth opened, a cold cloth was shoved in, serving as a gag. Someone even came up to him, their delicate hands covering his mouth. The fire in Arthur's hand had gone out, but they had another source of light, something Arthur couldn't see.

But he could see the person standing in front of him. Long, brown hair. Green eyes. Wearing the unmistakable colors of Clubs.

"I'm very sorry we have to be so rude to do this," Elizaveta frowned slightly. And Arthur noticed that she was holding onto Ella tightly in her hand. Before Arthur could even try to do anything else, he felt something hard, most likely a rock, slam on top of his head.

He fell limp.

* * *

Arthur slowly opened his eyes, still a little dazed, to what looked like a house. It seemed small, it was made up of a lot of planks of wood, even the door. There were no windows. And it was warm. So warm. Arthur could hear a fire crackling behind him. He could also hear someone humming.

Arthur looked more around his surroundings. He was sitting in a chair, facing the door. His wrists were tied to the arms of the chair, and his ankles were tied to the legs. It seemed like a poor job, but Arthur definitely couldn't get out of them with his own strength. Ella was pacing on his shoulder, obviously perturbed by something.

"Ella?" Arthur whispered very softly, hardly any noise came out, and he was surprised he wasn't still gagged.

"Arthur," she whispered happily. The person behind him was still humming. Ella's happy expression dwindled quickly, though and she turned to just look down.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked quietly. If this were a normal situation, Ella would be flying around, pissed at whoever dared to do this to them. Maybe even go get help, since Lukas could see her. But her wings were limp, like she had lost hope.

"I-I'm a fairy," Ella looked back up to him with tears in her eyes. "I'm a special fairy, too. I've taken a look at the Joker's world…I know when I'm gonna die."

"What?" Arthur deadpanned.

"Ah, you're awake now, da?" a very familiar voice stated and Arthur froze. "Don't be scared," Ivan walked in front of him, dragging a chair with him. He sat down in front of Arthur. "Privet."

"Don't be scared?" Arthur snapped. "I'm tied to a chair in a windowless room with someone who tried to have me killed by sending me to an asylum."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Ivan giggled and that sent a tingle down Arthur's spine. "You are just here as bait, comrade."

"Comrade," Arthur repeated bluntly. "Like hell that's what we are."

"I saved you from freezing in the cold," Ivan smiled. "You got wet, I can tell."

"Why are we doing this?" Arthur asked.

"We should be friends, da?" Ivan tilted his head. "There's no reason not to be."

"What do you intend on doing with me?" Arthur glared at him.

"I told you, bait," Ivan said calmly. "Your King can't resist a damsel in distress, that's what the asylum fiasco taught me."

"And then use him as leverage?" Arthur asked, confused. "Why not just use me?"

"Because you escape too easily," Ivan stated and Arthur noticed Ella fly off his shoulder. "He, on the other hand, was sadly injured, I hear."

"And you're using that to your advantage?" Arthur asked.

"Two Royals are better than one, too," Ivan said happily and leaned back in his chair.

"Why are you even here, Ivan?" Arthur snapped. "Shouldn't you be back at your castle?"

"So should Alfred, da?" Ivan sighed. "We have our plan to end this war quickly in our favor, but Eliza is not good with being harsh, which must happen in a war. So I am here to help."

"Helping," Arthur sighed. "Right."

"Don't tell me you don't want this war to end," Ivan said disappointedly.

"Oh, I do," Arthur stated. "Just not on your terms."

"And you aren't quite in the position to say anything like that," Ivan grinned and stood up. He started walking around Arthur, but Arthur didn't bother to look at him. He just stared straight forward. "You did fall right into our trap. We tried to make it as obvious as possible."

"I noticed," Arthur stated.

"I bet Alfred is looking for you right now," Ivan laughed slightly. Arthur could still hear his footsteps walking on the wooden floor. The fire was crackling. "Trying to be a hero, like always, da?"

"He most likely is," Arthur said evenly.

"I hear you recently overcame your fear of water," Ivan said happily as he stepped in front of Arthur again.

"You could say that," Arthur stated.

"Your time in the asylum gave you that fear, da?" Ivan asked as he continued walking around Arthur.

"Yes, in fact, it did," Arthur said calmly. He was surprised with how calm he was managing to be, considering what they were talking about.

"And you got to be Alfred's hero for a change?" Ivan asked.

"Pretty much," Arthur nodded. "You know, I am getting rather tired of this small talk."

"What would you prefer we talk about then, comrade?" Ivan asked, coming in front of Arthur again and stopping. "We could talk about the state of your kingdom, with the lack of trust that you have. What with you lying to them and being insane."

"If we really were friends, you wouldn't bring that up, am I right?" Arthur glared.

"You said something when you were in there, da?" Ivan looked up, as if he was in thought. "It almost killed you, if I recall."

"Yes," Arthur stated.

"What was that sentence again?" Ivan smiled, like he was planning something.

"I said a lot of things," Arthur sighed.

"I remember now," Ivan said happily. "It was 'I don't believe in fairies'."

Arthur's eyes went wide and, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ella fall to the ground.

* * *

******Okay, so we all know what the words "I don't believe in fairies" means, right? Peter Pan taught me that one! I'm sorry that this kind of ends on a cliffhanger, but I had to otherwise it would be too long and I have good plans for the next chapter. Oh! And that whole Ella thing will be explained later. Her seeing the Joker's world. So, don't worry about that just yet.**

**So, off topic. Since I'm slightly ahead in my story, I've decided to take a challenge given to me by my friend. The challenge is to create a good, very well-written JapanxFem!Russia one-shot. It sucks because she's really picky and I hardly write either characters and I'm so screwed, man! But, yeah, that's what I'll be writing while you read this. If it turns out good enough, you might expect to see it on FanFic!**

**So! Please review! It would be ever so awesome of you to do.**


	33. End This War

Arthur suddenly had trouble breathing. It took him a moment to realize what he had to do to save her. When he opened his mouth, though, Ivan looked behind him and a cloth came into Arthur's mouth, making it impossible for him to talk. Apparently, there was other people in the room with them Arthur hadn't seen before.

"You just need to learn to be quiet, da?" Ivan giggled and Arthur glared at him. He could feel himself shaking. With anger or sorrow, he wasn't exactly sure. "Your poor, little fairy was supposed to die today, anyway. I was just making it faster."

There was a small stretch of time, where Arthur was practically fuming with anger, and then Ivan nodded to the people behind Arthur and the cloth left Arthur's mouth.

"Bastard," Arthur glared at him, he was still shaking.

"It's simple," Ivan stayed smiling. "The Royalty of Clubs-"

"_Conclude_," Arthur interrupted him and Ivan's mouth shut closed. "You don't deserve my mercy anymore."

Ivan took a startled step back and nodded towards the people behind him, who Arthur heard step forward.

"_Pulate retro!_" Arthur snapped, and he saw Ivan fly back to hit the wall next to the door and he heard two other people hit hard against the wall behind him. "_Abrogare īungite,_" Arthur muttered and the ropes around his wrists and ankles undid themselves and dropped onto the ground. Without even thinking, he scrambled over to where Ella was lying on the ground, looking awfully pale with her eyes closed.

He could feel himself shaking horribly when he knelt down and reached forward to pick her up.

* * *

"H-he's been out there for a while," Matthias muttered, looking up at the sky. Alfred did the same and saw that the sun was coming up.

"I-I'll g-go take his p-place," Alfred muttered, standing up without using his arms.

"You going to be okay?" Emil asked.

"F-Fine," Alfred stated and started off where he saw Arthur go. It had seemed like that was forever ago, now that he thought about it. As he walked away from the warm fire, he was getting even colder. He walked for a while, staring mostly at the ground, but he stopped when he got pretty far. Arthur should have at least been around there by then. "A-Arthur?" Alfred stuttered out and turned around. He kept on looking for Arthur until he could see their tarp again.

"Arthur!" Alfred called out again, starting to forget about the cold and the ice coating his hair. He walked around a little more, still looking at the ground. "Arthur!" He tried looking up at the trees to see if Arthur was hiding up in those. "Arthur!" Alfred stopped where he was and looked down at the leaves on the ground. "Dammit, Arthur! Where did you go?!"

Alfred felt himself shaking as he kept looking around, that was when he saw something in the ground. It looked like something heavy was dragged across the ground.

"A-Alfred," Matthias came up behind him. "Wh-what's up?"

"Arthur…" Alfred felt himself shake his head and started running as fast as he could, following the tracks.

"Alfred!" Matthias called behind him and he could hear several people running behind him, but he didn't care. Arthur was in trouble, this was not okay.

Alfred kept running, even when he ran into people from Clubs, he just ran as fast as he could past them, leaving it to the others to get rid of them. He eventually made it into what looked like a small town. There were several houses made up of logs everywhere. Hardly any of them had windows, but they all had chimneys.

"Arthur!" Alfred called out again and went up to a random house. Without thinking, he kicked open a door, but no one was inside. So he moved to the next house, kicking open that door. Again, nothing. Normally, Alfred would just open the door, but he couldn't exactly use his arms yet. He knocked down door after door until he finally opened one and saw three people on the ground, probably unconscious. There was a fire in the fireplace, which made the whole house emanate heat.

To the right, though, he saw someone crouched over with familiar bright blonde hair. He was muttering something Alfred couldn't understand. "_Revenī_, _Revenī_, _Revenī_…" That was Arthur's voice.

"Arthur…" Alfred quickly came up to him and almost hugged him when he noticed what Arthur was doing. For one thing, he was crying, practically sobbing. Alfred could see his tears hitting the floor. And he was holding something carefully in his hands. Something Alfred couldn't see. That's when it hit him what was happening. "A-Arthur," Alfred went down on his knees next to Arthur, "I-I'm sorry…"

"Just…be quiet, Alfred…" Arthur muttered out. "_R-Revenī…_Please…It-it worked on Alfred…"

"Wh-what worked on me?" Alfred asked.

"I-It's a spell…" Arthur mumbled. "I-It's supposed to…to…b-bring someone back…"

"It's Ella, right?" Alfred asked tenderly.

"Who the bloody hell else would it be?" Arthur snapped.

"Hey…calm down," Alfred put a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"You can't save her, da?" Ivan's voice said and Alfred looked over his shoulder. Ivan was one of the people who were supposed to be knocked out. He was against the wall next to the door. "She's meant to die."

"_Conclude_!" Arthur yelled at him and, oddly enough, Ivan flew back and slammed against the far wall.

"Okay," Alfred said calmly, and turned back to Arthur. "Let's just…take a deep breath and…and calm down…"

"You're not helping, Alfred," Arthur let out a small sob.

"Look, I-I'm really sorry about what happened to Ella," Alfred said gently. "But…there is still a war going on. People are still dying. We…we need to focus on that first…"

"I know…" Arthur grumbled.

"There you two are," Matthias sighed behind them. "What's wrong?"

"Hard to explain," Alfred stated. "Arthur, you…you okay to move?"

"I'm fine," Arthur muttered and quickly tried to wipe away his tears. He stayed oddly still, though.

"Do you need help standing up?" Alfred asked and Arthur nodded. "All I can do, though, is put my hand on your shoulder," Alfred winced. "And even that's a bit painful."

"Here, I'll help," Matthias rushed into the room. He helped Arthur stand up and Alfred stood up with them.

"Hey, you said that sometimes, wars end quickly because the other side has their Royalty as leverage?" Alfred asked, staring at the unconscious Ivan in front of him.

"Yeah," Arthur muttered.

"We have an unconscious King right here," Alfred shrugged.

"It can't be that easy," Matthias shook his head and looked out the door. "Lukas, Emil! Help Queenie here. We're gonna try and see if we can walk back to base camp. Berwald, you help me carry Ivan!"

"What do I do?" Tino asked excitedly as the others came into the house and started walking Arthur out and picking up Ivan.

"Make sure Alfred doesn't pop his stitches," Matthias grunted as he and Berwald picked up Ivan.

"Oh…okay," Tino deflated slightly.

"Hey, I feel useless, too," Alfred shrugged and winced slightly at the pain that caused his arms. "Let's just start walking with them," Alfred sighed and they followed their little convoy. Alfred did have to admit, it felt oddly quiet right now. If this was supposed to be where they were keeping all of their best people, shouldn't there have been more around? Fighting to get their King back?

"Where is everyone?" Arthur asked, as if he was reading Alfred's thoughts.

"I think they're all spread out through the forest," Matthias grunted. Apparently, Ivan was very heavy.

"So we will need to be on our toes as we leave," Emil muttered, looking around at the surrounding trees.

"Are you going to be okay?" Lukas asked Arthur gently. He was looking down at Arthur's hands, which Alfred guessed were still holding Ella. "I understand you were close."

"I'll be fine," Arthur's voice croaked and Alfred could feel his heart breaking. He had never seen Arthur sad before. He had seen him in pain, he had seen him angry. But sad was so much worse than anything else. It even made Alfred nearly cry.

"Hey, it's okay!" Tino said happily, trying to perk up Alfred. "I mean, she's in a better place now, right?"

"You could see her?" Alfred asked.

"Um, more like she was a firefly," Tino shrugged. "But, a little bit, yeah, sure!"

"Well, it's not really Ella that's making me sad," Alfred sighed heavily. "It's just…I don't want Arthur to be this sad…Ever. I care too much about him to want to watch him suffer like this…"

"That's really sweet, you know," Tino smiled at him. "You fit the role of King perfectly!"

"I really wish there was something I could do to help…" Alfred sighed, staring at the ground. "He's been better at everything for this whole time…All I'm good at is saving him when he's a damsel in distress…"

"That's a good thing, though, right?" Tino smiled brightly. "I mean, it's one thing to know how to deal with stress, but it's another to be strong when others need it."

"Yeah, but I've just been useless since our coronation," Alfred groaned. "I wasn't even his hero when I ran after him. He had already gotten himself out…"

"But you came anyway," Tino said helpfully. "That's what matters more than anything. So what if you weren't his hero? That's not what he's worried about."

"I guess you're right," Alfred sighed. "I mean, what could I even do with my arms like this in the first place?"

"You did a good job of helping when you found him," Tino smiled a little softer. "And you don't need your hands for everything."

"I guess," Alfred mumbled and looked up at the sky. The sun was just barely making it above the trees and Alfred sighed. This was going to be a long day…

* * *

Arthur sighed with relief upon seeing the familiar tents of their own base camp. It had taken nearly a day for them to get all the way back. What with the constant breaks from carrying Ivan, the fact that Arthur broke down about half way there, and then it was freezing their whole way back. They also ran into a few Clubs soldiers. So Arthur and Alfred were promptly shoved in a bush as they fought them off. Then Ivan woke up and they had to slam a rock on his head to make sure he stayed unconscious.

Finally, though, they were back at the main camp and Arthur was about ready to collapse. But he would have a bit of a way to go before that happened…

Immediately, when they came into camp, Kiku rushed up to them.

"Are you all okay? E-Excuse my brashness…" he said hurriedly and then finally caught sight of Ivan. "What are you doing with him?"

Arthur sighed, still holding Ella closely to him. He didn't feel like answering that question. Everyone else at camp was staring at Ivan, as if he would jump up at them and kill them all.

"We have a plan to end this war early," Alfred stepped in to say.

"We are using him as leverage?" Kiku asked.

"Only thing we can do," Matthias stated, struggling to keep Ivan's arm around his shoulder. They had tried many tactics to carry Ivan. Anything from one carrying his torso, the other his legs, to trying to carry him on their backs on and off. "Clubs has had a lot of tricks up their sleeve we haven't seen before."

"And we need to end this now," Emil stated.

"This is our best and only option," Lukas muttered.

"We should head out now," Berwald stated and everyone nodded.

"Let me just…" Arthur looked back down at Ella, "set her down."

Without even getting an answer, Arthur quickly darted off to his and Alfred's tent. When he got in, he went to the pile of blankets on the ground and delicately set the limp fairy down on them. Her head lolled lifelessly to the side and Arthur softly ran a finger through her hair.

"_Protege,_" Arthur muttered, waving his hand on top of her. That was to protect her. He didn't want anyone to step or sit on her while she was away. He would make sure to take care of her when he got back…

Arthur quickly stood up and headed outside of the tent.

* * *

**I'd like to take this time to be serious, even for a short while. A student at my school died recently, of what they aren't telling us. But, I'd like to at least dedicate something to them. Tell them that they aren't forgotten and that people care. I hope she is protected with whatever religion she had with the afterlife just like Arthur is protecting Ella with everything he has, even though she's dead.**

**Okay, now that I'm over the depressing topic, I can talk about the chapter. Not much to say other than next chapter, we get to see the war end...sort of... You'll see tomorrow.**

**Please review! It will mean a lot to me!**


	34. Saved Your Life

Arthur flew the flaps of the tent out of the way as he stormed out of it. He was starting to feel a small bit of rage bubbling up inside of him.

"Ready to win, da?" Ivan asked smugly.

"What the bloody hell is he doing awake?" Arthur snapped. Everyone was outside his tent. Matthias and Berwald were still holding Ivan, but he was awake. Emil, Lukas, Alfred, and Tino were all standing off to the side, Alfred closer than the rest.

"He just woke up," Matthias shrugged.

"I'll be better for negotiations, I think," Alfred stared down at the ground, kicking it. His arms were hanging, useless. "Having him awake…"

"Fine," Arthur huffed and started walking out in the direction of the battlefield. "Just shut. Him. Up."

"Problems coping?" Ivan asked with the same voice as before.

"Shut up!" Arthur turned around, shaking slightly and with tears in his eyes. He was about ready to hit that smirk off Ivan's face. But when he turned around, he was met with Alfred and even more tears came to his eyes.

"Arthur…are you going to be okay?" Alfred asked softly.

Arthur let out a small, choked sob and dropped his head, leaning it on Alfred's chest. "I don't know what to do anymore," Arthur sniffled out. "I-I can't…"

"Arthur," Alfred sighed. He made an odd, pained noise, and Arthur felt his arms wrap around him. "It's okay."

"You shouldn't move your arms like that," Tino pointed out and Arthur just started sobbing into Alfred's chest, thoroughly soaking it in the process.

He didn't know why he was crying anymore, to be honest. He had cried enough when he saw her dead the first time. Just the…the thought of knowing she wouldn't be there to fly around and make comments anymore…She wouldn't be there to wake him up…His best and longest friend was gone…

Arthur grabbed onto Alfred's shirt tightly, pulling him even closer to him. Alfred wouldn't leave. He couldn't leave. He needed something there for him.

"Don't…" Arthur barely managed out. "Don't leave…"

"I'm not going anywhere," Alfred said calmly. He made another pained whine and ran his hand up Arthur back.

"I know you're hurting your arms…" Arthur muttered and another sob wracked his body. "You…you shouldn't do that…"

"What do you want me to do?" Alfred chuckled lightly.

"S-s-stay…" Arthur sobbed. "Please just don't…don't…"

"I won't," Alfred hugged him even tighter. "I promise I'll stay right with you. I'm not going anywhere."

Arthur just kept crying. He cried until his throat felt raw and no more tears came out. Ella was gone… He cried until he ran out of sadness. He slowly let go of Alfred's shirt and Alfred slowly let go of him.

"Sorry," Arthur croaked and looked up at Alfred. He could still feel himself shaking.

"You know, you don't look as cute as you are when you're happy," Alfred smiled slightly, wiping away Arthur's tears, "as when you're sad."

"Are you two done yet?" Matthias sighed impatiently.

"Sorry," Arthur repeated.

"We should get moving now, da?" Ivan asked and Arthur felt himself twitch. "So you can go win this war."

"_Conclude!_" Arthur yelled, turning towards him. He felt something in him snap. He had ran out of sadness, and anger quickly filled its slot. For the time being, it was perfect.

Without saying another word, Arthur stalked off, towards the battlefield.

"Nice guy you have there," Matthias chuckled and Arthur could hear people following him close behind.

The more Arthur thought about it, the more he became blind with rage and he continued storming towards the battle, which he could hear happening as if nothing had happened. That just made him even more pissed. He could hear a few arrows wiz past his head, but he didn't bother to see where they were. He could even hear Alfred yelling at him, but he refused to listen.

When they got onto the battlefield, Arthur knew that no one would even bother to look, absorbed in their own worlds. Without even thinking or processing, Arthur shouted a spell.

"_Moenia de ignis aedificem_!" Arthur shouted and, suddenly, a wall of fire came up between all of the people fighting, making them all stop and stare at the fire.

"Shit…" Alfred muttered.

"Remind me not to get him pissed again," Matthias gaped.

Arthur stormed into the middle of the battlefield and people were slowly turning to look. He could hear multiple people talking about how they managed to get the King of Clubs.

"Everyone, shut up!" Arthur yelled loudly and the battlefield fell silent. "And, Clubs, listen!"

"Arthur!" Elizaveta's voice gasped and Arthur saw her run out, onto the field. Oddly enough, she was fully clad in the men's armor for Clubs. Arthur just glared at her. "I knew when I heard you escaped and Ivan was gone that this was what would happen."

"Obviously," Arthur stated coldly and Elizaveta's eyes widened.

"Arthur?" Elizaveta asked, sounding confused. "What happened?"

"You bloody kidnapped me and tried to use me as bait, that's what," Arthur snapped at her, narrowing his eyes.

"I-I didn't know you had it in you to upkeep a spell like this one," Elizaveta pulled out a weak smile and gestured to the walls of fire along the field.

"Let's skip the small talk," Arthur growled.

"Yeah, okay," Elizaveta nodded.

"Do you surrender?" Arthur asked.

"Like Hell," a Clubs soldier laughed. He was leaning on his sword, staring at them.

Arthur rolled his eyes and quickly took his sword out of its sheath and turned around, towards Ivan. He poked his sword on Ivan's throat, even getting a little blood to run down his neck.

"How about now?" Arthur growled, turning his attention back to Elizaveta.

"Y-You wouldn't kill him," Elizaveta muttered.

"He killed my fairy," Arthur glared dangerously at her. "Try me."

"Arthur," Alfred snapped.

"Shut up, Alfred," Arthur didn't even look back.

"Yes," Elizaveta nodded. "We surrender. When do you want to talk about a peace treaty?"

"Noon, tomorrow," Arthur stated and moved the tip of his sword so that it hit the dirt.

"Let go," Matthias stated and he and Berwald let go of Ivan. Who quickly stood up and calmly walked over to Elizaveta.

"Arthur…" Alfred came up, in front of Arthur. "What…what happened there?"

Arthur released his spell on the fire and gasped for air. He was starting to feel dizzy. But that wasn't the important thing. Before Alfred walked in front of Arthur, he saw Ivan look back, behind him, as if to double check something.

"I'm fine," Arthur sighed. With the rush of the moment gone, he could hardly feel his legs anymore. He looked over Alfred's shoulder again and saw that there was someone in the field behind them. He was holding something…

"No, you're not," Alfred pressed. "What the hell was that?!"

"I'm fine," Arthur repeated absentmindedly and continued looking over Alfred's shoulder. The person behind them was holding something with a long, metal cylinder and it was pointed at Alfred's back.

"Arthur," Alfred stared at him. "Listen to me."

"Alfred, move," Arthur muttered.

"I'm staying right here," Alfred said firmly.

"Alfred, move!" Arthur stared back at him.

"Why?" Alfred snapped.

Before Arthur could think any more, he stepped in front of Alfred. He could see the King and Queen of Clubs walking away and the armies of Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades were starting to cheer. But, a loud _BANG! _shut them all up.

Arthur's chest exploded in pain and the force of whatever hit him sent him flying back, into Alfred's arms.

Then he blacked out.

* * *

Arthur stared defiantly into Alfred's eyes. He looked tired.

"Alfred, move!" Arthur yelled at him.

"Why?" Alfred yelled back. He didn't remember ever having an argument with Arthur before. This was supposed to be a happy time. Clubs was leaving, their side was starting to cheer. But Arthur just looked over Alfred's shoulder with a tried look on his face.

Then Arthur moved so that he was on the other side of Alfred and he turned around to follow him. There was a very loud _BANG!_ and everyone went deathly silent. Arthur stumbled backwards and just fell. Alfred held out his arms to catch him, but those burst into pain.

"Gah!" Alfred winced and quickly stooped onto the ground. "A-Arthur?"

Alfred looked down at his unconscious husband and noticed that the left side of his chest was soaked in blood. He looked up for a fraction of a second, into the field. He saw someone standing there with something that looked like a long, metal cylinder.

"Arthur!" Alfred turned his attention back down to Arthur. He was turning pale.

"Don't worry," Tino muttered, coming up to them. He immediately set to work, ripping open Arthur's shirt. He had what looked like a hole in the left side of his chest. Alfred could feel himself shaking horribly as the other medic, the girl medic, came up and started working quickly, helping Tino. They had a gauze that they were working on wrapping around Arthur's chest.

"He's alive," Lukas stated, standing behind Alfred.

"H-How can you…?" Alfred muttered.

"You're still alive, remember?" Matthias stated.

"Arthur…" Alfred almost cried.

"Help us carry him," Tino said quickly and Berwald and Matthias quickly and carefully picked him up.

"I-I can carry him!" Alfred protested, standing up and following them.

"No, you can't," Emil stated. "Your arms are useless."

"Arthur…" Alfred mumbled, tears gathering his eyes. "Please be okay…"

* * *

**Emotions...Why are they so freaking evil? I tried to make Arthur go through a kind of sorrow/anger kind of thing and I don't think it worked out very well. Just know that it's one of those "desperate measures" kinds of things. He just snaps and all of that. And Alfred's more depressing emotions are explained next chapter.**

**Again, I'm going to thank my lovely Latin Translator, SheenasTears! And I'm going to kindly request that you guys review.**


	35. Everything Is Okay?

"Arthur and Alfred must be there by now, aru," Yao yawned, staring at the map they still had set up in the dining room. He had guessed by the reports he had gotten recently that Spades was getting close to the Clubs border.

"I can't help but wonder what in Deck is taking them so long," Ludwig sighed.

"Well, Arthur is leading them," Francis laughed. "You never know how long it could take."

"Not a joking matter, aru," Yao sighed and started pacing.

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" Francis asked and Ludwig just glared at him.

"It's a war," Ludwig massaged the bridge of his nose. "They could die."

"If you want to be depressing," Francis stated, "then oui."

"He's not being depressing, aru," Yao glared at him. "He's being realistic."

"And I am being optimistic," Francis stood up from his seat. "It is the least I can do for them."

Yao opened his mouth to say something, but his throat suddenly closed on him and he couldn't breathe. His eyes widened and he gripped onto his neck, as if that would help. It was almost like he had forgotten how to breathe. His vision started to tunnel and he fell onto his knees.

"Yao!" Ludwig shouted and, quickly, the two Kings were around Yao, who was beginning to black out.

"Breathe, homme!" Francis yelled to him.

Then, almost like something unlocked, Yao sucked in a deep breath. He sucked in several more after that and clutched his heart, to make sure it was still beating.

"Aiyah…" Yao muttered, still panting for air.

"What the hell was that?" Ludwig wondered out loud.

"Je ne sais pas," Francis shrugged.

But Yao knew the answer. He didn't know how, but he did. "Alfred and Arthur, aru."

* * *

It was a couple days before the next incident. Yao was walking in the halls of the castle with Francis by his side, chatting about nothing in particular. Only Francis, Yao deduced, would be able to be this calm during a war.

Suddenly, though, Yao stopped and Francis turned around him.

"Yao…are you okay?" Francis asked cautiously.

Yao's chest erupted in pain and he yelled out, squeezing his eyes shut. Without feeling it, he fell onto the ground and he clutched his heart. He felt like he had gotten stabbed, or shot with an arrow. But it was worse than that. The pain stayed for a while and he could feel tears streaming down his face. Not from the pain, that was over nearly as quickly as it came. But he was depressed all of a sudden.

"Yao!" Francis yelled in his ear and Yao could finally feel him shaking him. "Are you okay?"

"Aiyah, I think…" Yao muttered, sitting up slowly. "I think one of them just died, aru…"

"Non," Francis shook his head feverishly. "Non! I just got a report from the lines. They supposedly just got the King of Clubs, or he was on his way. They were going to end the war!"

"Then why do I feel empty, aru?" Yao demanded.

"Ludwig!" Francis yelled and Yao could see tears forming in his eyes. Francis quickly scrambled to his feet and ran off to find the King of Hearts. Yao quickly did the same and followed him close behind. He still had a small pain in his chest, but he easily ignored it with the sense of depression flooding into his head.

He had been feeling the depression since the day he had forgotten how to breathe. It was steadily getting worse, even getting to anger at some points. He didn't know what was happening with these mood swings, but he knew it must have meant something bad.

* * *

Alfred paced in front of the medical tent and there were several soldiers standing outside, too, with baited breath. The only soldiers not around were getting food, water, or making several fires around the camp. Tino and the girl medic, Amelia, had been working on Arthur for hours. The only proof Alfred had that he was still alive was Arthur's clock, which he had in his hand, pointing right at the tent, and the constant panging he could feel in his heart. He somehow just knew that it was Arthur.

"You should relax," Matthias said kindly. "You're setting us all on edge and it can't be healthy, the way you're worrying. You just need to rest."

"I can't!" Alfred snapped. "That's Arthur! I promised him I would protect him, no matter what! I vowed…And _he_ got shot protecting _me_!"

"And what he did was his vows," Lukas stated. "To Spades."

"That vow doesn't make any sense," Alfred grumbled. "If it costs him his life, then it'll cost me mine…"

"Then how does your vow make sense?" Emil asked.

"Don't try doing that to me!" Alfred snapped. "He shouldn't have done that! I should be the one in that tent with people stitching me up!"

"You've already had your fair share of stitching," Matthias grabbed onto his shoulders so that he would stay still.

"And he shouldn't have any at all," Alfred felt himself tremble. "Especially not because of me."

"It wasn't your damn fault!" Matthias yelled.

"I was too stupid to move when he told me to!" Alfred shouted back. "If I had just fucking moved, we would both be fine! Celebrating the win! Now look! Because of my own stupidity, no one is celebrating!"

"_Conclude,_" Lukas sighed and Alfred and Matthias' mouths both snapped shut. Alfred looked freaked out, but Matthias just rolled his eyes. "You're both being idiots, now shut up."

"And if you want him to recover quicker, you should let him sleep," Tino chirped as he stepped out of the tent.

"He's okay?" Emil asked as Alfred rushed to his side, but his mouth refused to open. A noise couldn't even escape his throat.

"He'll be fine!" Tino nodded. "Amelia is staying in there to make sure he doesn't move much and that it doesn't get badly infected."

"Will we be allowed to see him?" Lukas asked as Matthias started glaring at him.

"Um, quietly," Tino nodded slowly. "He needs to stay asleep for as long as possible, so that his wound heals right."

"Hear that?" Lukas smirked at Matthias. "You'll have to stay quiet for until we leave the tent."

Alfred let out a sigh through his nose, but looked back at the tent longingly. He wanted to see Arthur so bad, voice or no voice. So, without looking back at the seemingly one-sided argument, he entered the tent. Amelia was messing with something at a makeshift desk on one side of the tent. Apparently, they had brought in a feather mattress for this tent because Arthur was lying on it. His shirt was still off, half of his chest covered in a white gauze with a small tint of red on it. His legs were covered with a blanket.

When Amelia turned around and saw him, she smiled, but put a finger to her lips. Alfred nodded and stooped down, next to Arthur. He was pale, but you could definitely tell he was alive. He was breathing heavily and it was obvious that he was dreaming. There was a small smile on his face.

It had been so long since Alfred had seen that smile and it made him smile, too. He ignored the pain in his arms so that he could move some of the hair off of Arthur's face. Despite the cold weather, Arthur looked warm. And Alfred could tell, just when his fingers brushed Arthur's skin, that he was burning up. He frowned slightly at that…

But, he lightly stroked Arthur's cheek and smiled at the thought that nothing else was wrong with him. He was the same. He looked the same as before the war, before everything started going bad. His skin was still fair, just a little dirty. His eyebrows were still bushy as ever. His hair was still bright, like the smile he had on his face.

Alfred leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the lips (he smiled slightly to himself when he felt Arthur kiss him back) before standing up and leaving the tent. He noticed Matthias standing with Emil and Tino as he left, but he didn't think much of it. He started walking calmly towards where one of the fires was, hoping to get away from the evil cold around him. Arthur was lucky to have that fever…

"You know, I released the spell when you entered the tent," Lukas said calmly, walking beside him.

"I probably wouldn't have been able to find the right words, anyway," Alfred sighed, seeing his breath puff in front of his face.

"So, just seeing him calmed you down?" Lukas raised an eyebrow.

"I guess…seeing him alright made it better…" Alfred stuffed his hands in his pockets. "To know that, after everything, he'll come out as the same person as before is comforting."

"But you've changed," Lukas stated.

"I guess?" Alfred shrugged. "I've always been able to be serious when I've needed to be. This job is just making that part come out a lot more…"

"I'm going to go check on his fairy," Lukas sighed. "Since I'm the only one who can see her. I need to make sure she hasn't moved from where Arthur put her."

"Right," Alfred sighed, nodding. Lukas quickly left and Alfred slowly walked up to a fire. He stopped a couple feet away from it. It was emanating plenty of heat, so he was able to just stand there and get enough warmth.

"He is okay, right?" Berwald asked, standing next to Alfred.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded. "He'll be fine. He just has to sleep it off. Tino's pretty good at that whole medic thing."

"Ja, he is very helpful," Berwald said, very monotone and Alfred sighed. What was with these guys and their lack of emotions?

"You guys don't exactly like to emote, do you?" Alfred asked, staring at Berwald.

"What do you mean?" Berwald asked.

"Nothing," Alfred sighed, resigning. He looked up at the sky, which was turning purple. He could see a few stars up in the sky. "This fire's a lot better than the one we had back in that forest, right?"

"Yes," Berwald stated and Alfred shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"You're not good with small talk, are you?" Alfred asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

"No, he really isn't," Matthias' voice came into the conversation and Alfred turned around to look at him.

"I'm going to help Tino," Berwald stated and left the two in front of the fire.

"Yeah, don't worry about him," Matthias chuckled. "He's not much of a talker."

"Hey, what should I do tomorrow?" Alfred asked. "Arthur made that meeting with Elizaveta tomorrow at noon…I don't think he'll be awake by then…"

"You're smart enough to think up terms of a surrender," Matthias shrugged. "The only problem is that they can't know Queenie is incapacitated. We got the guy who shot him, the boys are having fun with him. And they left by the time it happened."

"Why can't they know about Artie?" Alfred asked.

"They'll see us as weak," Matthias stated. "It's kinda like they could take advantage of us."

"I guess…" Alfred muttered. "Afterwards, though."

"Why does it matter?" Matthias asked.

"Because Eliza seemed worried about Arthur," Alfred stared at the sky. "I think she does care about him, she didn't exactly do anything to him. I think she should know."

"Clubs as an ally will be weird," Matthias laughed. "I don't think they've ever quite had an ally. I can't help but wonder what their Royals can do."

"What do you mean?" Alfred asked curiously.

"Well, all of the sets of Royals have some special ability," Matthias shrugged. "Spades used to be magic, but that's died down slightly. Hearts has had the ability to…I guess see soul mates and help them get together in some way. Diamonds…well, Diamonds lost theirs a while ago with their greed to be the richest Kingdom. Clubs has just been a mystery, though."

"I can't help but wonder what Diamonds had," Alfred smiled.

"If Francis was chosen into it, it can't be good," Matthias put his hands up in surrender. "But, hey, I think you should get some sleep before your meeting with Elizaveta."

"I guess," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "I guess it just feels a little weird, considering Arthur put Ella in our tent…"

"Her soul's not gonna haunt you, man," Matthias laughed and walked away.

"Well, I wasn't thinking of that!" Alfred yelled at him and felt a shiver go down his spine. "I'm having a hard problem not thinking about it now, though…"

* * *

**So...we got to see Yao for the first time in forever! And we can see that he's been affected! And we got to see a little bit of relaxedness. The war's over and we'll get to see what's up with Clubs soon, too!**

**Please review! It would be very, very awesome of you!**


	36. Waking Up To Pain

Arthur could feel himself breathing. He could feel himself resting on something soft. He could feel the cold around him. He could feel warmth at the same time. He could feel something wet resting on his forehead. Most of all, though, he could feel pain burning in his chest.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes. He was met with the sight of a tent above him. He had to blink a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes so that he could see clearly. He turned his head slightly to his right and saw a little, makeshift desk sitting against the mall of the tent. There was a woman sitting at the desk, someone familiar… Arthur turned his head slightly to the left and saw just the other wall off the tent.

"Oh, you're awake!" the woman said excitedly and turned around. Arthur turned around towards her and something fell off his forehead.

Arthur tried to talk, but his chest erupted into pain and he winced into himself.

"Yeah, don't try to move or talk," the woman came up to him and grabbed the cloth that had fallen off his head. "You got shot by lead, but you'll be okay, as long as you don't try to move too fast."

Arthur just stared at her as she was messing with the cloth. She had sandy, blonde, short hair and dazzling blue eyes. She wore glasses and reminded Arthur a lot of someone he knew. She soon came back and set it on Arthur's head. It was wet and cold and Arthur couldn't exactly understand what was going on.

"My name is Amelia, by the way," she smiled. "I'm the medic you stationed here, up front."

Arthur shakily nodded. His chest was still throbbing and he tried to look down at it. All he saw was bandages.

"You're confused, aren't you?" Amelia sighed. "Let me get you up to date. You can probably remember when you stepped between King Alfred and that Clubs invention. It shoots lead like a cannon, but smaller. It hit probably an inch above your heart. Luckily, we were able to get it out and more or less stitched you up. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do, I'll admit. Especially because I wasn't given much stuff to work with all the way out here in the first place. And that man, Lukas, I think his name was… He did some spell that should have helped you a lot. Sadly, though, you do have a bit of a fever and we've been trying to help with that for a while."

Arthur just stared at her.

"Lukas' spell wasn't perfect," Amelia shrugged. "That's why you're still in pain. What he did mainly was stich up the things I couldn't. Apparently, healing spells are really hard to do. So I didn't push anything since I knew you would be fine anyway. Tino helped a lot, too. He's very good at this."

Arthur blinked a few more times.

"I-" Arthur tried to talk but the pain in his chest got suddenly worse and he winced, shutting up.

"I told you not to talk," Amelia shook her head and went back to the desk, messing with something. "Don't worry, though. I've been told that I could carry a conversation with a wall."

Arthur smiled slightly. That reminded him a little bit of Alfred. Speaking of him…where was Alfred? Arthur was almost sure that Alfred would be by his side with something like this happening to him.

"That was really brave of you, too," Amelia glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling. "Took a bullet for him." She turned back to the desk. "At least, that's what they're calling that piece of lead. Do you want to see it?" she turned around, holding some bandages.

Arthur stared at her with a confused look on his face.

She just rolled her eyes. "We kept the piece of led. It's a little smashed with the impact of when it hit you, but it still looks pretty good. Since you're awake, I'm going to change your bandages. So…here comes the hard part. You have to sit up."

Arthur shakily nodded and Amelia set the bandages down on the bed next to Arthur.

"I'm just gonna warn you that it's gonna hurt," Amelia sighed. "So, if you wanna stop, you make sure I know, okay?"

Arthur was starting to get a little worried by now, but he still nodded.

"Okay," Amelia nodded and lightly held onto his shoulder. She put her other hand on Arthur's back. It seemed freezing compared to how warm Arthur's back apparently was. "Three, two, one."

Arthur tried to sit up at the same time she gently pushed him up. His chest seared with nearly unbearable pain and Arthur yelled out in pain.

"Ach!" Arthur yelled out and, soon, he was sitting upright. The pain dwindled slightly after he stopped moving, but it was still throbbing.

"See? Easy," Amelia laughed slightly, picking up the bandages. Arthur let out a small laugh, too, ignoring the small pain that came with it. When he looked back down at his chest, he saw that there was a small tint of red all over the bandages already on him. "Try not to freak out when you see it," Amelia smiled and started unwrapping Arthur's current bandages.

"How…" Arthur muttered out and the pain he got in his chest was a little lighter than before. "How…long have I been…asleep?"

"A couple days," Amelia shrugged. "Just because you can talk now doesn't mean you should get cocky and try talking a lot."

Arthur chuckled slightly and stared down at his chest while Amelia finally pulled away the last of the old bandages. Arthur nearly lost it, seeing what happened to him. It looked like there used to be some kind of hole there, but it was crudely stitched together. It was even bleeding a little bit.

"You would probably be dead from blood loss if it weren't for Lukas," Amelia stated and stared at the wound for a little bit. Arthur could see that it had a strange, yellowish tint around it. "Damn, that looks bad…" she turned around towards the desk again. "This'll hurt a little bit, too."

"Wh-" Arthur started, but Amelia shushed him. When she turned around, she had a small bottle of amber liquid in her hand.

"If I had a better option, I would take it," Amelia sighed. Arthur knew very little. "And the only stuff we got is freaking rum. So, it'll hurt…a lot."

"Perfect…" Arthur muttered and Amelia let out a laugh.

"Keep up that smiling attitude," Amelia smiled and opened up the bottle. "Now take a deep breath…"

* * *

Arthur laid on the bed, feeling too tired to do anything, but not tired enough to fall asleep. Only a day had passed since his bandages were changed and they'd had to be changed another time. The pain was lessening to a dull throb by now and he honestly felt useless. He also couldn't help but wonder were Alfred was…

"Hey," Amelia said as she entered the tent

"Hello," Arthur greeted in return. He had been able to talk with the pain lessening, which was a good thing.

"Sorry I took so long getting back," Amelia laughed. "I was trying to eat, but then King Alfred came up and started asking all these questions about you."

"Why hasn't he been…coming in, then?" Arthur muttered as he slowly shifted himself on his elbows.

"He's been busy," Amelia stated and walked over to the desk. "Ending wars takes a lot of work and stuff. And, without you around, he's had to do a little more work."

Arthur sighed and winced as he sat upright.

"So, you can sit up by yourself," Amelia noted. "Wanna try walking?"

"I thought you said I shouldn't move to fast," Arthur chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, well the men out there wanna try and get home soon," Amelia rolled her eyes. "I don't know why… Toni still hasn't finished working on all of the other wounded soldiers."

"Right," Arthur nodded. "I could try standing…"

"Sweet," Amelia smiled and looked over Arthur's bandages. "Those look okay so we won't have to change them for a while."

"Great," Arthur chuckled. He was really not into the idea of getting his wound doused with rum again…

"Okay, then," Amelia nodded. "Let's see if you can stand!"

"You have no idea how much you're like Alfred," Arthur shook his head and slowly moved his legs so that they dangled over the side of the makeshift bed. He still had on the pants he was wearing the day he got shot, he noticed.

"Let's see if you can do it by yourself first," Amelia laughed. "If you need help, I'll offer it to you."

Arthur nodded and shifted his weight to his feet and quickly stood up. It brought a lot of pain to his chest, but he just winced and dealt with it.

"You doing okay?" Amelia asked.

"Fine," Arthur managed out. Subconsciously, Arthur's hand went to his chest, on his wound.

"I sent Tino to get you a shirt," Amelia smiled. "And shoes. We had to take yours off in here because that would just be uncomfortable, sleeping with shoes on…"

Arthur laughed slightly. The pain in his chest was slowly ebbing away. Another thing Arthur noticed, though, was that it was very cold with him being away from the warm blanket and bed.

"How's the pain?" Amelia asked, turning back to her desk and started messing with something.

"Bearable," Arthur muttered and sat down on the bed again.

"Well, that's better than where we started," Amelia laughed as Tino walked in, carrying some clothes. "Lookie there! You're clothes are here!"

"It's great to see you awake, Arthur!" Tino smiled largely at him.

"Good to see you, too, Tino," Arthur nodded.

"I tried to find something warm," Tino said happily and handed him the pile of clothes.

"Thank you," Arthur nodded, starting to shiver slightly.

"Good news is that his fever's gone down," Amelia said happily and Arthur slowly and painfully pulled a long-sleeved shirt over his head. He also saw a coat and decided it would be best to put that on, too. Then he started pulling on the boots, which was surprisingly very painful.

"I blame this bloody cold," Arthur grumbled.

"Well, it's okay 'cause we're going home soon," Amelia winked at him.

"Where the temperature remains the same," Arthur stated.

"But you have a fireplace in every room," Amelia laughed.

"Do you want to go outside?" Tino asked brightly. "If you can stand, you can try walking!"

"I've only been up for a day," Arthur chuckled, but nodded anyway. "I'll try."

"Sweet!" Tino chimed. "Because there's something you have to see!"

"What?" Arthur asked and stood up slowly, pain still entering his chest.

"You shouldn't have told him that," Amelia sighed. "Now he'll be dying to go outside."

"I'm not exactly dying to," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," Amelia smiled. "I'll go outside with you because I wanna see it."

"See what?" Arthur asked.

"You want to ask questions?" Amelia teased. "Or do you want to walk?"

"You are so much like Alfred," Arthur laughed, shaking his head. But he started walking. His first few steps were slightly painful, but it lessened with every step. It was actually rather nice to know that everything could go back to normal quickly.

Tino went ahead of him and held the flaps of the tent open so he could step through. Amelia followed them close behind. When he stepped outside, he was slightly blinded by the sun. Then he was startled by the cold. He could practically see his breath in front of him.

"Bloody hell, it's cold," Arthur shivered, rubbing his hands up and down his arms to get warm. Even underneath the jacket, he was freezing.

"A little," Tino said cheerfully. That was when Arthur noticed that everyone was staring at him. It was almost like everyone stopped what they were doing just so they could stop and stare at him.

Then something weird happened.

* * *

**Heh, cheesy cliffhanger... I don't like using cliffhangers like that, but, whatever, man. Arthur's awake! And moving! Isn't that exciting? Oh, and Amelia is my version of fem!America. She's not very important in here, I just found her entertaining. She will be in the next few chapters, isn't that exciting? Next chapter, we get to find out what that "Weird thing" was. Oh, and we have about 5 more chapters left, if I've estimated correctly.**

**Please review!**


	37. War Hero

Arthur stared at the people around him as they all stared at him. Arthur wasn't exactly sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Until one of them spoke.

"Hey, look who's awake!" one of them said cheerfully. That only caused more people to stare at him.

Then they started clapping and cheering. Arthur faltered and took a step back. Never, in a million years, did he expect this to happen to someone line him.

"W-what are they doing?" Arthur muttered.

"Applauding you," Amelia nudged his side.

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"Arthur!" Alfred's voice called out happily and the lad quickly emerged around the crowd, running towards him. Before Arthur could run away, Alfred wrapped his arms tightly around him and, picking him up into the air, twirled him around.

"Alfred!" Arthur winced at the massive amount of pain in his chest.

"Sorry," Alfred muttered shyly and set him down. But he didn't waste any time in pulling his head close, kissing him. Arthur happily kissed him back.

"Now tell me," Arthur stated when they finally separated. "Why are they cheering?"

"Well," Alfred smiled at him. "It was your idea to go out to the border. You knocked out Ivan so we could use him to win the war. And they saw what you did in front of them. If none of that helps them believe in magic, then they're idiots. And you saved my life."

"I…" Arthur muttered. He wanted to say he didn't do anything that great. But he thought about it a little more. He really did do all those things Alfred said.

"Don't you start saying you didn't do anything," Alfred scorned him. "I saw everything you did."

"I guess so," Arthur chuckled.

"I have to ask," Alfred turned slightly serious. "Why did you step in front of me?"

"Well, to save you, love," Arthur said.

"But, if it killed you, then it would kill me, too, right?" Alfred asked a little sadly.

"To give you the painless death, then," Arthur smiled slightly. "If only one Royal dies, the others die painlessly. Getting shot by…whatever that was…That was excruciatingly painful. And I wouldn't want you to experience that right before you died."

"Just promise me you won't ever do that again," Alfred hugged him again.

"I promise, Alfred," Arthur laughed. He noticed that, by then, all of the soldiers were going back to their business. But, while the two separated, a few soldiers came up and said thanks or something like that.

"So, now that you're all better-" Alfred started excitedly, but Arthur had to stop him.

"I'm not completely healed, Alfred," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Though, you seem to be with your arms. It still hurts, for one thing, and then for another, I can't exactly keep myself standing like this for too much longer."

"Plus, he can't move very far," Amelia stated. "Or too much. There's some careful stitching over that wound and, if that stuff pops, we'll be screwed."

"I could carry you around," Alfred smiled and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Please don't," Arthur stated. "I think I finally have respect from these guys."

"Well, I need to do something to work out my arms and get them back to normal," Alfred whined. "Lifting you will be a piece of cake!"

"I'm not that lightweight!" Arthur snapped. "…Am I?"

"Sorta," Alfred laughed. "Oh! Hey, I just remembered. Someone's been waiting to see you."

"Who?" Arthur asked curiously.

"You gotta come with me," Alfred smiled. He turned his attention to Amelia. "Is it okay if he comes with me for a little while?"

"He doesn't need to come back here," Amelia shrugged and tossed something to Alfred, which he caught easily. "Just figure out how to change his bandages every once in a while and make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

"Sure thing, doc," Alfred saluted her and then, before Arthur could protest, picked Arthur up princess style and started walking away.

"Bloody hell, Alfred!" Arthur sputtered. "I told you not to do this!"

"But she told me to make sure you don't hurt yourself," Alfred chirped happily. "And this is the perfect way for me to do so!"

"Until you trip," Arthur teased.

"I won't trip!" Alfred sighed. As if on cue, he stumbled slightly, nearly falling forward, but he caught himself with his feet placement.

"You were saying?" Arthur chuckled.

"Shut up," Alfred blushed slightly and continued on their way.

"So, who is here?" Arthur asked.

"You two look so adorable!" a new, familiar voice swooned and Arthur snapped his attention to her.

"Wh-what is she doing here?" Arthur blushed slightly and Alfred carefully set him down so that he was standing, but he had to lean a little bit on Alfred to right himself. Elizaveta was standing in front of them.

"Well, Alfred told me about what happened to you," Elizaveta smiled shyly. "And, since we are allies now, I thought that I should wait to see you when you're okay!"

"A-Allies?" Arthur stared at Alfred.

"You were asleep when it was time for that meeting you arranged," Alfred shrugged. "So, I did it for you. We are the first ever allies of Clubs!"

"What?" Arthur blinked.

"I can explain why Clubs has never had an ally," Elizaveta said, kind of sadly. "But, first, I would like to apologize to you on behalf of my King."

It was then that Arthur remembered with a sting that Ella was dead. How could he have forgotten…? He hadn't realized that he lost his balance until he felt Alfred catch him.

"You okay?" Alfred asked gently.

"Fine," Arthur righted himself and dusted himself off.

"The ability Clubs has," Elizaveta continued, "can make some people cruel. That's why Clubs has never had an ally. All of the leaders eventually become cruel and either try to fight anyone who comes as an ally or drive them away."

"What is Clubs' ability?" Arthur asked. He knew Spades has the ability of magic, Hearts the ability of seeing soul mates, and Diamonds used to have the ability of persuasion (Arthur was pretty sure Francis was bringing that one back). But he had no idea what Clubs had. No one did.

"We can see destinies," Elizaveta stated. "You could say that it's both a blessing and a curse. To us, though it's mostly a curse. We can see and know what is going to happen, but we can't change anything. When we go into wars, we know who's going to win and who's going to lose."

"So, is that why you didn't have any of your good guys out on the battlefield?" Alfred asked.

"As the Queen, I can decide what goes out on the battlefield," Elizaveta nodded. "I wanted to cause as little bloodshed as possible because I knew we were going to lose. Ivan, though, he wanted more bloodshed just so that he could be cruel. Knowing everyone's destinies can make someone snap. My Jack and I have learned how to put it under control with the help of a Joker."

"No way," Alfred smiled. "Which Joker, Gilbert?"

"Oh, you've met Gilbert?" Elizaveta asked happily.

"He's helped us a little," Arthur muttered. "So…since you can see destinies, does that mean you know when someone is going to die?"

"Sadly, yes," Elizaveta sighed. "Even our own deaths are known to us."

"So, Ivan knew Ella was supposed to die that day, too," Arthur stared at the ground. His chest was still hurting slightly.

"He tends to get carried away easily," Elizaveta said comfortingly. "He finds no point in mercy when he's been given none his whole life."

"I don't think he even knows what that word means…" Arthur muttered.

"Ivan used to be very nice, believe it or not," Elizaveta smiled slightly and Arthur looked up at her like she was crazy. "As a kid, he had a friend from Spades and they were very happy. He even got along well with his sisters. But, when he was chosen as a Royal, his ability began to appear and he started getting darker and darker…"

"What about you?" Alfred asked. "You said Gil helped you, but does it still affect you?"

"Yes, but I've learned to just think of it as a suggestion," Elizaveta's mood brightened. "The way Gilbert put it, a destiny isn't something I should worry about. Destinies can actually change quite often. I've seen my death about 20 different ways. So I just don't let it bother me."

"It's pretty cool to have someone like that as an ally," Alfred said excitedly.

"Cool…right," Arthur sighed.

"Again, I want to apologize for what Ivan did to you," Elizaveta smiled softly at Arthur. "It was unorthodox of him."

"Right," Arthur sighed and started walking towards their tent, where he left Ella.

"Arthur, wait," Alfred called out to him. He said goodbye to Elizaveta and quickly came up next to him. "You okay walking?"

"Yes, Alfred, I'm fine," Arthur said.

"You should relax a little," Alfred sighed. "The war's over, we're the first allies of Clubs, we're going home tomorrow, I've heard. I don't want that wound to open again…"

"I'll be fine, Alfred," Arthur stated. He took a look at the sky and found that it really wasn't that sunny at all. There were clouds all over the sky, dark and gray, like it was about to rain. Or snow, with the temperature the way it was…

"Is it about Ella?" Alfred asked delicately and Arthur nodded as they came up to their tent.

"I think she's been waiting long enough for a burial," Arthur sighed and stepped in, soon followed by Alfred.

"So, where did you put her, anyway?" Alfred asked. "I wanna make sure I didn't, like, accidentally hurt her."

"Well, I put a protective spell over her, for one thing," Arthur sighed. "So not even your fat arse could hurt her."

"Hey," Alfred whined, but Arthur kept going.

"But it seems Lukas was smart enough to move her onto the map," Arthur sighed with relief upon seeing Ella lying still on the part of the map that represented the Spades castle.

"Where did you have her before?" Alfred asked.

"On our makeshift bed," Arthur stated and Alfred just stared at it.

"So, do you think her ghost is still around here?" Alfred asked, looking around the tent.

"Alfred, are you scared of ghosts?" Arthur asked as he knelt down and carefully picked up Ella in his hands.

"No!" Alfred answered too quickly. "Not at all! I mean, that would be so unheroic of me! Ghosts. Please, they aren't scary!"

Arthur just stared at him for a while. Then, a wicked grew on his face with an idea. "Well, I'll have you know that I can see ghosts," Arthur smirked. That was a lie, but it was worth it to see the look on Alfred's face. "And Ella is flying right behind you."

"Shit!" Alfred swatted the air around his head and quickly sprinted out of the room.

"That was too easy," Arthur shook his head, smiling slightly and made his way out of the tent. Alfred was still freaking out, hitting the air around him, like it was a bug.

"I-Is she still here?" Alfred stuttered out and Arthur let out a small laugh.

"Of course, Alfred," Arthur snickered. "She'll be around her body."

"You better not be messing with me," Alfred pointed a shaky finger at Arthur.

"Now why would I mess with you?" Arthur raised an eyebrow and started walking.

"Whoa, where are we going?" Alfred asked.

"I need to find a good spot," Arthur sighed. "It's not like I can just bury her anywhere."

"Oh, right," Alfred rubbed the back of his head. He was continuously looking around, as if searching for her ghost. It made Arthur chuckle. "So…what are we looking for? To find a good spot?"

"If we were near a forest, that would have been nice," Arthur sighed. "But I guess a nice patch of grass that's maybe still alive in all of this bloody cold."

"What about right there?" Alfred pointed a little bit forward of them and Arthur saw a small patch of thick, green grass.

"Well…" Arthur blinked at it. "That's fine."

* * *

**Okay, just, ahead of time, because I'm lazy, you won't get to see Ella's funeral. That, and I've never been to a funeral, and I'm not very good with writing sadness... So...yeah. That is the last we see of Ella...Next chapter, they're going home!**

**Please review! It's awesome of you!**


	38. Fix It Up

Arthur and Alfred were slowly coming back to the camp. It had started snowing halfway through the burial and now the ground was frosted over with the white powder. The pain in Arthur's chest got steadily worse so he was relying on Alfred to keep him upright.

"That's where you two went!" Matthias sighed and came up to the two as they neared the camp. "We were looking for you!"

"What? It's not like we'll get kidnapped," Alfred shrugged. "The war's over, remember?"

"Well, the cold's obviously not doing him any favors," Matthias pointed at Arthur. He actually was having a hard time keeping up with Alfred because of all this pain. "Besides, he's been up and moving for a while. I think he should probably get some rest."

"Then we'll get some sleep," Alfred stated.

"Thanks," Arthur winced at the pain slightly.

"We're leaving pretty close to sunrise tomorrow," Matthias stated and started walking away. But he stopped and turned around, giving them one last thought. "And, Queenie, I'm gonna have to insist that you ride in that carriage we'll be giving you."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Arthur laughed slightly. If just walking around calmly like this brought him so much pain, he was not going to insist on walking all the way back to the castle.

"Here," Alfred yawned as they started towards their tent. "I'm a little tired, too."

"So you really have been doing work," Arthur grinned. "I didn't know you were capable of that."

"Hey," Alfred whined. "You're so mean to me sometimes. I could easily just drop you in the snow out here and make you crawl into our tent."

"And I know you wouldn't do that," Arthur smiled calmly.

"Maybe," Alfred sighed as they entered the tent. Arthur quickly took his chance to sit down on their pile of blankets. "So…do you think Ella's ghost is still in here?"

"Alfred, you're such an idiot," Arthur shook his head, laughing.

"And you're a meanie," Alfred stuck his tongue out at him and sat down next to him. "I'm cold."

"Well, that's what we have all these blankets for," Arthur laughed.

Alfred let out a deep, long yawn, stretching his arms out. "Can we just shut up and sleep now? My banter's not gonna be that good when I'm this tired."

"Fine," Arthur smiled and gave Alfred a quick peck before they started moving the blankets around to get to sleep.

* * *

Arthur woke up feeling very warm. His face was freezing, he couldn't feel his nose or his ears, but he rest was very warm. He supposed that was because of the blankets. But, when he opened his eyes, he found that he was very wrong.

Alfred was lying on top of him, his arms on either side of him. His head was resting calmly on his collarbone, and he was snoring happily. There were blankets over them, too, which was probably what was making Arthur so warm.

"Alfred," Arthur sighed. He couldn't exactly move with all of Alfred's weight on top of him. He couldn't even move his arms out from under Alfred. "I can't move, love."

But Alfred just kept snoring.

"Alfred," Arthur groaned and tried to wriggle out, from underneath Alfred. But that caused a small spurt of pain in his chest, so he had to stay still. "Move your bloody fat arse."

"Well, you could be a little nicer," Alfred snickered, staying where he was, but moving his head so that his chin rested near Arthur's neck.

"Don't tell me you were awake," Arthur sighed.

"Matthias came in earlier to tell us to wake up. I figured that I could give you a few more minutes," Alfred smiled.

"Then could you get the hell off me?" Arthur chuckled, shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm kinda comfy," Alfred laughed.

"Yes, well my chest is already in pain," Arthur sighed. "I don't need your crushing weight to make it worse."

"But I don't wanna move," Alfred whined.

"I'm not above using a spell to get you off," Arthur threatened.

"I'm moving," Alfred sighed and quickly moved so that he was off Arthur.

"Thank you," Arthur smiled and slowly shifted himself so that he sat up. It hurt his chest a little, but he dealt with it.

"So," Alfred stood up. "Ready to go back home?"

"As I'll ever be," Arthur sighed.

"We get to put our crowns on again," Alfred laughed.

"Where did those go, by the way?" Arthur asked.

"I think they put them in our carriage for the ride back," Alfred smiled. "Oh, and I have your clock, if you want it back."

"I think I might," Arthur smiled up at him.

"Do you need help standing up?" Alfred laughed slightly.

"That would be appreciated, yes," Arthur nodded.

"Here," Alfred held out his hand and Arthur held onto it with his right hand. Gently, Alfred pulled him up and it took a few moments for Arthur to right himself. "You good now?" Alfred asked, handing Arthur his clock.

"Yes, thank you," Arthur nodded, putting the clock in his pocket.

"I'm gonna start getting our stuff ready to leave," Alfred said and turned to the map and folding it.

"I feel like I should help," Arthur sighed.

"Nope," Alfred stated. "You're not supposed to exert yourself. Amelia said so."

"I know that," Arthur sighed. "It's a shame I don't know any housekeeping spells."

"I'm surprised you don't know those," Alfred laughed and Arthur scoffed.

"Ella didn't exactly teach me everything," Arthur rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"It's fine," Alfred smiled, finishing his folding. "It's just that putting the tent down will kind of suck…"

"You could ask for help, love," Arthur smiled and Alfred set to work folding their pile of blankets.

"Nah, I got this," Alfred stated.

"Whatever you say," Arthur chuckled, shaking his head.

It didn't take too long for Alfred to get everything together and carry it all out with one go.

"It looks like you're holding a bit too much there," Arthur laughed as they stepped out of the tent and Alfred started towards the small line of carriages that people were loading things into.

"Dude, I'm fine," Alfred laughed, but Arthur noticed him shift uncomfortably.

"Do your arms still hurt?" Arthur asked.

"Nope," Alfred shook his head quickly, a little too quickly, Arthur noted.

"Are you just too proud to admit that you're in pain?" Arthur teased.

"Dude, if I was still in pain, I don't think I would be carrying this," Alfred laughed.

"Whatever you say," Arthur sighed as Alfred stopped in front of a carriage with an open door. He easily unloaded everything and turned towards Arthur.

"Do you wanna watch me take down the tent, too?" Alfred laughed.

"I have nothing else to do," Arthur chuckled.

"Actually," Lukas' voice stated and walked up next to the two, "I should probably see if I can do any more for your wound."

"Oh, right," Arthur nodded. He had almost allowed himself to forget about his wound.

"I'll probably still be working on the tent by the time you get back," Alfred laughed and started towards their tent again.

"What else is there for you to do?" Arthur asked Lukas.

"I could heal your skin so that there is no chance of your stitches popping," Lukas stated.

"Right," Arthur nodded. "Anywhere in particular you would want to do it?"

"Magic is magic no matter where you do it," Lukas stated and Arthur nodded. Lukas closed his eyes in concentration and started muttering a spell Arthur didn't know. It definitely wasn't Latin, so Arthur had to wonder which language he was using for it. While he was incanting, Lukas reached his hand out and lightly touched Arthur's chest, right on his wound. Upon the touch, Arthur winced from the pain, but suddenly, the pain was gone. It was replaced by a warm feeling that spread throughout his entire chest. He felt something like a stirring in his wound. And then Lukas stopped his spell, dropping his hand.

Pain returned to his chest the second he stopped touching him. It was the same pain as before, but he did feel different. A little better, if anything.

"Try feeling it," Lukas stated, looking very tired.

"Right," Arthur nodded and moved his hand to gently rub over where the wound previously was. With the hole previously in his chest, she should have felt an indent. But all he felt was smooth skin underneath the bandages. "What language was that?"

"Norse," Lukas stated. "Their magic is better for healing purposes. Sadly, no healing spell is perfect, so you will still feel pain. For about as long as it would take the wound to heal naturally."

"So, for a while, I take it?" Arthur chuckled.

"Yes," Lukas nodded. "But I do suggest you don't overexert yourself. The magic is still working. If you do too much, the wounds can still appear again."

"Right," Arthur nodded. "I understand."

"That means you can't walk all the way back to the castle," Lukas stated.

"I was told before by Matthias," Arthur smiled. "I don't think I would want to with this pain."

"Good," Lukas stated and then walked away.

Arthur subconsciously reached his hand to feel for the wound again and started towards the tent. It was currently half dismantled and Alfred was tangled up in it.

"I leave you alone for 5 minutes and you have this happen to you?" Arthur chuckled, shaking his head, as he came up to him.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Alfred laughed and seemed to be struggling to get out without tearing the tent.

"Here, let me help you," Arthur knelt to the ground beside him and started moving the tent around.

"Hey, that tickles!" Alfred started laughing and kicking around.

"Stop moving," Arthur laughed and eventually got Alfred's legs untangled.

"Then you should stop doing that," Alfred laughed. All of his moving around was making it worse. The other half of the tent collapsed on top of them.

"My God, Alfred," Arthur laughed. "You're hopeless."

"I'm sorry," Alfred let out a laugh, too. "But I think this is your fault."

"How is this my fault?" Arthur moved a piece of the tent off his head and stared at Alfred.

"I was doing perfectly fine before you came in," Alfred teased, poking Arthur's face.

"Are you two done yet?" Matthias asked as he walked up to the two.

"Um, not quite," Alfred smiled sheepishly.

"You can blame this idiot for that," Arthur laughed, untangling himself easily and standing up.

"You two are so hopeless," Matthias shook his head. "Alfred, just get yourself out, I'll help you."

"Who said I needed your help?" Alfred said as he got himself out of his own mess.

"Your state tells me enough," Matthias grinned and held out a hand to help Alfred up. "And you should be headed to your carriage, Queenie. We'll be heading out as soon as Alfred gets his tent cleaned up."

"Right, then," Arthur nodded, still laughing slightly. He started towards the Royal carriage. He could see all the soldiers around him just talking about going home and what they'll do. Some smiled at him and Arthur curved up a smile in return. He wasn't used to people being this kind to him. His brothers were never exactly nice to him in the first place, and then there was the entire kingdom hating him for being a male Queen and insane. But this seemed to change nearly everything.

Arthur smiled contently to himself as he stepped into the carriage and took a seat.

* * *

**It's kind of funny, now that I've reread this chapter to edit it...I've noticed that absolutely nothing has happened... Yay filler chapter! I felt kind of bad for my Enland plushie earlier because one of his seams popped. Then I had to go into surgery and it was my first time sewing... Must have been painful... Anyway! Next chapter, they come back to the castle!**

**Please review! Only three chapters left and, by the end of the day, I will have finished up writing everything!**


	39. You Were Dead

"Arthur," Alfred's voice broke into Arthur's dream. Apparently, Arthur had fallen asleep in the carriage. His head was resting against the wall. "Dude, we've been out for 10 minutes, you couldn't have already fallen asleep."

"I thought I was told to sleep often," Arthur stated, staring at Alfred. The door was open and Alfred was striding next to it. "So I could heal."

"But that's so boring," Alfred whined and quickly jumped into the carriage, nearly making it tip over.

"Bloody hell, Alfred," Arthur let out a laugh. "Be a little more careful."

"Dude, this thing is fine," Alfred laughed and sat next to Arthur.

"Shouldn't you be out walking with everyone else?" Arthur asked, still feeling drowsy.

"I was getting tired," Alfred yawned. "I'm not used to waking up early very often. I need my beauty sleep."

"Is that what you call your sleeping in now?" Arthur laughed.

"Hey, we have the same goals right now," Alfred put his hands up in surrender. "You're tired, I'm tired. We should just sleep."

"Fine, then," Arthur smirked and laid down on Alfred, his head resting in his lap.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Alfred laughed.

"Going to sleep," Arthur said happily and closed his eyes.

"You're so cute sometimes," Alfred said happily and Arthur felt his hands run through his hair gently.

"Don't ruin this moment," Arthur sighed. It did feel rather nice, though, having Alfred's hands run through his hair.

"You're hair's soft," Alfred yawned. "How? We've been out here for months."

"Magic," Arthur grinned and Alfred laughed.

"Does that mean Lukas' hair will be soft?" Alfred grinned.

"Maybe," Arthur sighed. "I don't know."

"I see," Alfred chuckled slightly. Their conversation continued, but Arthur quickly drifted back to sleep with Alfred still absent-mindedly stroking his hair.

* * *

"Sires," a new voice entered the air and Arthur drowsily opened his eyes to look around. They were still in the carriage, but it had stopped moving. Alfred was asleep with his head leaning against the wall of the carriage.

"Yes?" Arthur slowly sat up, a pain rising in his chest as he did so. "What is it?"

"We are home," the soldier grinned and Arthur looked beyond him and saw the familiar sight of the castle.

"Alfred," Arthur shook Alfred's side and he snapped his eyes open.

"Huh?" Alfred sat up. "What?"

"We're home, idiot," Arthur laughed.

"We slept the whole ride home?" Alfred blinked at him.

"Apparently we needed the sleep more than we thought," Arthur chuckled, using his right hand to fix his hair from the sleep.

"Jeez," Alfred laughed and looked out of the open door of the carriage. The soldier had apparently moved out of their way. "It snowed."

"Really?" Arthur laughed and got a better look outside. It was cold, Arthur noticed for the first time. And there was a thick layer of white powder covering the ground and the castle, giving it some kind of unique beauty. The skies were gray, but it still looked beautiful outside. "It's beautiful…"

"Have you ever ran in the snow?" Alfred smiled and jumped out of the carriage. The snow crunched underneath his boots.

"What do you mean?" Arthur laughed.

"When you were a kid," Alfred held out a hand to help Arthur down, which Arthur took. "Would you ever run around in the snow, make little buildings out of it, and even throw clumps of snow at your friends?"

"Is that what you did?" Arthur asked as he stepped out of the carriage, too. It was still snowing and the white crystals fell on their heads.

"Yeah," Alfred smiled. "Me and Mattie would do stuff like that all the time. All that moving around helped us keep warm in the winter time. All of the kids did. While the adults huddled for warmth together in a town fire, the kids would run around."

"Was that what winter was like for you, as a Five?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets to try and warm them. "You wanna get inside? It's cold and I don't think your chest could hold up running around to get warm."

"Maybe later for the running around," Arthur smiled and started walking towards the castle. The snow crunched underneath their feet as they walked. All of the soldiers around them were moving equipment back into the castle. With so many people walking on the snow, it was all compact, not pure anymore. But, when Arthur looked out to the forests and fields surrounding the castle, he found powder stacked high and sparkling.

The second they entered the castle, they were smothered by the warmth emanating from it. "How do they keep this place so warm?" Alfred laughed and Arthur saw the snow on his head melt.

"They make sure every fireplace is lit at all times," Arthur smiled. "I take it you were never here during the winter as a servant?"

"Nah, they let me and Mattie take a break every winter so we could help our parents keep warm," Alfred smiled.

"Sires," someone, a servant, came up behind them, and bowed their head. He held out their crowns to them. "You left these in your carriage."

"Right," Alfred smiled at the person. "Thanks, James."

The lad, James, nodded to them as they took their crowns and placed them carefully on their heads. James quickly departed soon after.

"I wish they could just see me as Alfred again," Alfred grumbled slightly to himself.

"Don't worry, they'll get over themselves soon enough," Arthur smiled as another servant came up to them.

"Everyone is waiting for you in the dining hall," the maid said.

"We will be on our way, then," Arthur nodded and started walking to where he remembered the dining hall was, Alfred following close behind.

"What do you think our welcome back will be?" Alfred smiled. "Hugs and kisses?"

"I'm sure everyone was reasonably worried," Arthur chuckled. "But I doubt we will get the welcome you think we will receive."

"But we're heroes, man!" Alfred said proudly. "We should get a heroic welcome!"

"I'm sure your welcome will be one fit for a King," Arthur smiled.

"Whatever," Alfred lightly elbowed his side as they came up to the door of the dining hall.

"Let's just go in, then," Arthur smiled and pushed the doors open.

The room they came into, though, wasn't one of celebration. It almost seemed like sorrow before they came in. Everyone was sitting at a table. And by everyone, that literally means everyone. Francis, Yao, and Ludwig were there, naturally. Kiku apparently just went straight to Hearts after the war. But then there was Mathew, and two adults, a man and woman, who looked a lot like the twins. Then there was Arthur's three older brothers and even Arthur's mother.

The second Arthur and Alfred stepped in, they all turned to stare at them.

"Um…hi?" Alfred muttered.

Everyone was staring at them in disbelief and Arthur was starting to feel very, very uncomfortable.

"What is everyone staring at us for?" Arthur muttered out.

"You're both alive?" Francis was the first person in the room to speak.

"Of course we are," Arthur stated. "Wh-Why wouldn't we be?"

"Yao felt something," Ludwig stated, standing, "that he said he compared to being shot with something like an arrow, but worse. We got no reports from you since someone stating you had captured Ivan of Clubs."

"You felt…" Alfred muttered and looked at Arthur. "You felt him get shot?"

"You got shot?!" Scott stood upright, glaring at Arthur.

"Y-Yes, I…" Arthur muttered. "You thought one of us died?"

"I just had a feeling, aru," Yao stated. His face looked like it was recently grave with worry. More so than everyone else's. "I felt one of you drown and another get shot by…something. I just knew it was you two…"

"He was going through waves of depression, as well," Francis stated. "We feared it was because one of you died."

Surprisingly, Alfred let out a small laugh, which turned into full blown laughter quickly. Arthur just glared at him, this was no laughing matter.

"Alfred!" Arthur snapped and Alfred straightened up a bit, still letting small giggles out.

"I never thought that… that you would be able to feel what we did," Alfred laughed. "That's awesome!"

"You're being so insensitive," Arthur hissed at him.

"If we had died," Alfred grinned widely, "you would have died, too. But I didn't know you could feel our emotions and our pain!"

"Oh, I love how only one person is in a good mood," Gilbert's voice laughed and everyone looked around for the source. In a puff of smoke, Gilbert and Peter appeared in the middle of the table and everyone just stared at them in wonder. Everyone but Arthur, Alfred, and Mathew. "And of course, it's Alfred."

"A Joker?" Yao stared at him in wonder.

"Yup," Gilbert winked at him and then stooped down so that they were at eye level. "And I want you to know, what you felt. That's the curse of being Royalty of Spades. Any extreme emotion or pain any one of them feels, all the others feel, too." Gilbert stood up now and grinned at all of the massive attention drawn on him. "That depression you felt was what your Queen felt when his fairy died. The anger, too. But that was a mix of him and Alfred. The time when you couldn't breathe, that was when Alfred nearly drowned. When you felt like you got shot, that was when Arthur got shot by lead."

"Like a cannon?" Francis asked. He was the only one acting calmly about all of this. But, then again, he was Francis.

"Smaller," Gilbert grinned. "More portable, if you will. Clubs invention. You'll learn all about it soon."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Mathew stuttered. Arthur was slightly surprised that he could manage something like that with all these people around.

"Well, birdie," Gilbert smiled and jumped off the table, walking towards Arthur and Alfred. He quickly turned around when he was in-between them and slung his arms around their shoulders. "These two have made Spades the first ever ally to Clubs."

With that, Gilbert vanished in a puff of smoke. Peter waved to Arthur once and then disappeared with him, too. Evidently, the wanker had figured out how to teleport in the time that had passed. As soon as the Jokers left, the room burst out in noise, Arthur and Alfred standing still in the doorway.

Francis, immediately came up to Arthur and hugged him, which caused a burst of pain in Arthur's chest. Mathew also came up and hugged Alfred. But everyone else was asking questions. Things like "That was a Joker?" "Arthur got shot?" "New ally to Clubs?"

There was a lot of chaos and Arthur and Alfred had no idea how to stop it. Ludwig, on the other hand, was apparently used to this kind of thing.

He let out a sigh and then yelled, "EVERYONE SHUT UP!" And the entire room fell silent. That is, until someone new appeared in the doorway.

"Did I miss the party?" Matthias laughed, sticking his head in.

"We are going to cover one question at a time," Ludwig sighed as everyone in the room returned to normal. Francis and Mathew went to their seats, and Arthur, Alfred, and Matthias stepped into the room. Arthur was slightly happy Matthias had come, too. Now they wouldn't be the only ones having questions asked to.

"Fine, me first," Scott stood up and Arthur rolled his eyes. "What the fuck do you mean you got shot?!"

"It's a simple story, actually," Arthur crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Alfred was about to get shot and I stepped in the way."

"Dammit, Arthur!" Scott yelled, but Ludwig made him quiet.

"Next question," Ludwig hissed at him.

"How are we allies with Clubs, aru?" Yao asked.

Arthur, Alfred, and Matthias exchanged glances, trying to figure out where to start.

* * *

**Blerg, I'm not very proud of this chapter, but I have a headache and I can't fix it right now... Anyway...gasp! Everyone can see Gilbert? What does that mean? More magic? 2 chapters left and I've finished! I don't know what I'm going to do in my freetime now that I don't have this! I'm gonna be so bored!**

**Please review! It's really nice and awesome and stuff!**


	40. Let's Test It

"Arthur, I cannot believe you survived getting shot with lead," Francis laughed, but he was still pacing.

"Yes, yes I did," Arthur sighed. He was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Alfred was next to him, an arm slung over his shoulders. Yao was leaning on the other wall across from them. "Now we can get over it because I'm fine."

"I have it, if you want to see it," Alfred said happily and Arthur turned to give him a strange look.

"What do you have, aru?" Yao asked.

"Check it out," Alfred dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small vial. There was a crushed up piece of metal in it with some small shards of the same metal. "Amelia asked me if I wanted to keep it and I said that it'd be a cool souvenir."

"You kept the thing that nearly killed me?" Arthur raised an eyebrow as Alfred tossed the vial to Francis. When he caught it, Francis brought it up to the light coming through a window and laughed.

"It's hard to believe you didn't die, mon cher," Francis laughed, moving the vial so the things inside jingled around.

"Aiyah, look at the size of it, aru," Yao gaped at it.

"I try not to think about it too much," Arthur stated.

"Yeah, but there's always that question of if they got all of it, right?" Alfred laughed and Arthur glared at him. "Like, there's always that chance there's a little shard crawling towards your heart and-"

"Alfred," Arthur stopped him. "You really need to know when to stop talking."

"Sorry, dude," Alfred laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey, do you know what's taking them so long to get ready?"

"They're getting the entire kingdom together for this," Francis rolled his eyes. "You can't expect it all to be ready in 10 minutes."

"Why did you even want to do this in the first place, aru?" Yao asked.

"I wanted to test something," Alfred grinned.

"Test what?" Arthur asked.

"You're a war hero, dude!" Alfred said happily. "I just wanna see if they're reaction to you has changed like the soldiers did."

"Whatever you say," Arthur sighed and shook his head.

"We are ready, sires," a servant came up to them and Alfred let out a small grumble before the three assembled in front of the doors that led to the balcony. Just before they left through the doors, Alfred held on to Arthur's hand. Arthur smiled slightly and noticed that he seemed a lot more confident than the last time they did this.

They came outside and the loud chatter of everyone slowly died down as they came in front of the entire kingdom. It was just like their coronation.

Alfred smiled widely, looking at everyone.

"Hey," Alfred called out to them and Arthur stifled a laugh. He was being ridiculous. "It's been a while, right? Been kinda busy…with a war…that we won." Everyone started cheering at that and Arthur smiled at Alfred. When he wasn't feeling stressed, he had an outstanding ability with public speaking. "Okay," he said and they all died down. "You all know that, so that's not really why I'm here. I'm here to show you who's kinda being considered right now as a war hero. He planned a secret attack on Clubs, he knocked out their King, and he saved my life. I know you all hated him before, so I'm curious. How do you all like Queen Arthur now?"

Arthur bit his lip, slightly scared of what their reaction would be. They would still hate him, they would be quiet, they…

They were applauding. And cheering. Arthur stared at them in wonder. Had just one war changed their minds. Alfred grinned and turned to give him a smug look. Arthur just rolled his eyes at him.

"Sweet, thanks!" Alfred yelled down at them. "We needed that!" And, with that, they turned back inside.

"Impressive," Francis commended as they came in.

"You were right, it does get easier," Alfred said happily and then tackle-hugged Arthur, lifting him up in the air.

"Ach! Alfred!" Arthur snapped at him, wincing a lot at the pain it gave him.

"Toldja they'd like ya," Alfred said happily, setting him down and nuzzling into his shoulder.

"Good Lord," Arthur laughed. "Are you really that happy about it?"

"Aren't you?" Alfred pulled away and stared at him.

"Well, yes," Arthur chuckled. "But not to the point where I want to hug you."

"Well, that's a shame," Alfred poked Arthur's nose.

"Aiyah, you two are hopeless, aru," Yao sighed beside them.

"Maybe," Alfred laughed.

"No, you definitely are," Arthur laughed.

"Let's not get too into each other, right now," Francis placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "You still have plenty of work to deal with."

"Could we just not do that right now?" Alfred sighed. "We've had a long journey!"

"But you seemed fine just a minute ago," Francis smirked.

"Yeah, well, I should tend to Arthur's wound," Alfred said happily and started pulling Arthur down the hall by the wrist.

"What?" Arthur asked, but he didn't exactly fight to get away.

"Amelia gave me these bandages to help, right?" Alfred dug out the bandages from his pocket.

"Goodbye, then, aru," Yao called down the hall to them.

"Sweet, it worked," Alfred whispered excitedly.

"You do know that Lukas closed it before we left, right?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Do you wanna do work?" Alfred looked back at him.

"It would be rather nice to get these bandages off in the first place," Arthur sighed. The bandages around his chest were very tight and starting to get uncomfortable, since they weren't necessary anymore.

"Sweet," Alfred smiled widely as they came up to the door to their shared bedroom. "Home, sweet home, right?" Alfred laughed as he opened the door.

"I guess," Arthur chuckled as the stepped in. Nothing had changed… But one thing was missing…

"Here, just sit down and take off your shirt," Alfred said, putting the bandages on the table. "I'll help you take off the bandages."

"You never stop being blunt, do you?" Arthur laughed, but did as he was told, anyway. Taking off the shirt proved to be slightly painful…okay, very painful.

"Why does it still hurt if it's all closed up?" Alfred asked and walked in front of Arthur.

"Healing magic isn't perfect," Arthur stated. "It will hurt for as long as it would have taken for it to heal naturally. One bad part is that, rather than the pain lessening like it normally should, the pain will stay consistent the whole time."

"That sucks," Alfred sighed and started working on unwrapping Arthur.

"It's better to just keep the wound closed," Arthur sighed, holding his arms up so that Alfred could take off the bandages easier.

"That's amazing!" Alfred gaped at Arthur when the bandages finally all came off. Arthur looked down himself and saw his bare chest. Alfred traced his hand on top of where it was and the pain made Arthur wince.

"Please just look at it," Arthur swatted his hand away.

"Sorry," Alfred grinned and started wrapping the bandages around his hands absent-mindedly. "Hey, you know what I just realized?"

"What?" Arthur chuckled. He was hesitant to put the shirt back on. It was already so warm in their room, the fireplace was lit.

"We reek," Alfred smiled, placing the bandages on the desk.

"Why thank you Alfred," Arthur laughed. "That's just the compliment I needed."

"When was the last time we had baths?" Alfred asked.

"No," Arthur glared at him.

"Aw, come on!" Alfred sighed. "You just got over your fear."

"I did not overcome my fear," Arthur stated. "You should have seen the way I reacted after I left the water. It took all the strength I had to check and make sure you were still breathing."

"Then, I'll ask my question again," Alfred said stubbornly. "When was the last time you took a bath?"

"Fine," Arthur stood up.

"Does the gentleman not want people to know it's been months?" Alfred teased. "Don't worry, as a 5, I was so used to not getting clean in long amounts of time."

"So that's how you still keep your charm," Arthur teased and started towards the door to their bathroom.

"Should I get some warm water?" Alfred asked.

"I don't want cold water again," Arthur laughed.

* * *

"It's been a while since I've done real work," Alfred yawned as they came back into their room after a long day of working as King and Queen. He kicked the door closed behind them.

"A shame," Arthur chuckled and sat down on the bed. He was getting so tired…

"It's been even longer for you, right?" Alfred sat down next to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders.

"I guess," Arthur chuckled. "It seems like I always seem to hurt myself too badly to do anything."

"I'm starting to think that it's on purpose," Alfred laughed.

"Because I would love to get myself shot again," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"If it was for me, you would," Alfred poked his cheek and Arthur sighed, moving his hand away.

"Perhaps," Arthur stated and yawned. "Why do we always have pointless conversations right before we go to bed?"

"Because I'm so amazing with conversation?" Alfred laughed and Arthur chuckled, too.

"Yes, that's it," Arthur said sarcastically and then stood up. He moved some of the sheets off the bed and sat down on the mattress.

"Fine, I'll go to bed," Alfred yawned, stretching out his arms. He stood up, too, and moved to the other side of the bed. They both climbed in and covered themselves with the sheets. They assumed their usual positions, with Arthur's back to Alfred and Alfred hugging Arthur from behind.

"This is kind of a weird position, don't you think?" Alfred laughed, his mouth against the back of Arthur's head.

"Perhaps, love," Arthur smiled, closing his eyes. "But I rather like it."

"Should we kill the fire before we go to sleep?" Alfred asked.

"No, it's keeping us warm," Arthur hummed.

"Can you sleep with the light?" Alfred asked.

"If I can sleep with you talking all the time, then a small fire won't keep me up," Arthur laughed and Alfred laughed, too.

"Is it weird that I feel like there's still a war going on?" Alfred asked. "Like, if I close my eyes, I think I'm still in the camp?"

"It does feel a little too calm," Arthur chuckled. "Maybe when we wake up, we'll be back there."

"I wouldn't mind too bad," Alfred hugged him a little tighter. "As long as you don't get shot again."

"I won't be standing in line for it," Arthur laughed.

Alfred started humming a nameless tune, but it was very calm and peaceful. It made Arthur quickly drift into sleep, thinking about the song.

* * *

**Everytime I write a scene where they're falling asleep, I start almost falling asleep! It's so irritating because they do that a lot...Bleh...Anyway! Everyone loves Arthur now! Awesome war hero status will do that to anyone. One chapter left and I really hope that it wraps everything up. I have a lot to wrap up. 40. Freaking. Chapters! I have never even dreamed of writing something this long in my life!**

**Please review!**


	41. Snowball Fight

Arthur gripped tightly on his sword, pointing it at his target. It had been quite a while since he had done something like this. It felt kind of good, he had to admit. The freezing cold around him, the snow falling everywhere, and he was finally able to move around as he pleased.

Arthur swung the sword heavily against the dummy made of hay in front of him. He grinned slightly seeing the dent he caused in it. He swung again and again and again, attacking the thing. It felt so amazing, being able to let loose after about a month of having to just sit down and let Alfred care for him.

"Don't you think you should cut that thing some slack?" Alfred laughed, coming up to him.

"Perhaps," Alfred muttered in-between swings.

"Why are you exercising?" Alfred asked, staying out of the way of Arthur's back swing.

"I was told that I can finally do something," Arthur grinned. "I figured this would be the best way to get my strength back up."

"Remind me not to get you mad," Alfred laughed when Arthur accidentally sliced off the dummy's head.

"You should have known that from before," Arthur smiled, pointing the tip of the sword on the ground. "Considering I can also wield magic."

"But you wouldn't use anything bad on me," Alfred walked towards him and messed up his hair.

"It depends," Arthur grinned and stuck the sword in the ground. "I take it since you're out here, you wanted to talk with me?"

"Well, I heard you were all better," Alfred smiled widely. "So that means you can finally run in the snow with me?"

"I guess," Arthur chuckled.

"Sweet," Alfred said excitedly. "'Cause I know the perfect spot! I found it, like, a week ago."

"Is that what you did when you went missing?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Yup!" Alfred nodded proudly. "Now, come on! Let's go!"

Before Arthur could say anything, Alfred started running to the forest around the castle. Arthur just laughed and ran after him. Arthur wasn't exactly fast, though, so he was stuck quite a while behind Alfred. They ran for a while, and Arthur was beginning to run out of breath. The cold air was thin and it was hard to get enough while they ran. The snow falling around them was getting heavier.

Thankfully, Alfred finally slowed down.

"Slow…the bloody hell…down," Arthur panted and stopped next to where Alfred did.

"I thought you said you needed the exercise," Alfred grinned. It didn't even seem like he was tired from the run.

"And before today, the most exertion I had was walking down the halls," Arthur panted, his hands on his knees.

"That's not my fault," Alfred laughed.

"You could say it was," Arthur glared at him.

"And you decided to step in front of me," Alfred lightly poked his nose. "Which I love you for, by the way."

"Whatever," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. He was slowly getting his breath back, but the cold air around him stung his throat.

"So, when are you gonna look at where we are?" Alfred smiled.

Arthur stood upright and looked around the clearing that Alfred had stopped at. There were tall trees all around them, their bark a dark brown. There were even a few evergreen trees scattered around. They were a sharp contrast from the pure white snow around them. Arthur looked up and saw that he could clearly see the gray sky above them, despite all the tall trees.

"Alfred, it's beautiful," Arthur smiled.

"Wait 'till you see the fireflies," Alfred wrapped an arm around Arthur's shoulders.

"Fireflies?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. He knew very well that fireflies did not exist. That was just how some people saw fairies.

"I've seen them a couple times," Alfred smiled. "I've been here a lot."

"Right," Arthur ducked out of Alfred's hold. "So, you've said something about games you would play in the snow?"

"Yeah, there's a lot, actually," Alfred laughed and stooped down to pick up some snow from the ground. He started compacting the snow in his hands, turning them red with the cold.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Snowball fight," Alfred grinned and threw the ball of snow at Arthur's chest. It was light, and Arthur just stared down at it for a second.

"You did not just throw snow at me," Arthur stared back up at him.

"I'm gonna do it again," Alfred grinned mischievously and stooped down to pick up more snow.

"No," Arthur shook his head.

"Yup," Alfred quickly started packing up snow. Arthur darted for a tree and saw snow splatter against the tree.

"Dammit, Alfred!" Arthur yelled at him.

"It's more fun when you fight back," Alfred laughed and another snowball hit the tree.

"I don't know what to do," Arthur couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"You're a Queen, right?" Alfred teased. "I thought you said Queens were good at fighting."

"Oh, shut it," Arthur rolled his eyes and jumped when another snowball hit, some of it nailing his head. Arthur looked down at the snow in front of him and, in a split second decision, stooped down and picked it up. He started packing it quickly and then, using his tree as cover, threw the ball at Alfred.

"You missed," Alfred laughed.

"Well, it's not that easy," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It would be better if you would stop hiding behind that tree," Alfred chuckled. "I'm not throwing them hard enough to hurt."

"I have no intention in being covered in snow, thank you," Arthur laughed.

"Really?" Alfred asked and Arthur noticed that his voice was far closer than he was before.

"Jesus Christ," Arthur flinched away.

"Come on," Alfred laughed. "You're supposed to be having fun!" And then he tackled Arthur to the ground.

"God," Arthur muttered, the breath knocked out of him. "What was that for?"

"Now that you're covered in snow," Alfred smiled, resting his arms on Arthur's chest. "You won't have a problem doing a snowball fight with me."

"You're hopeless," Arthur laughed and secretly started scooping up snow.

"But you love me anyway," Alfred grinned slyly.

"You know, this snow is bloody cold," Arthur chuckled.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Alfred laughed. "Because you haven't hit me with a snowball."

"Really now?" Arthur grinned and used the snow he scooped up to hit Alfred in the back of the head. "I think I just did."

"Hey!" Alfred laughed, shaking his head to get the snow off. "That was sneaky!"

"Your point is?" Arthur smiled.

"Fine then," Alfred moved his hands above Arthur's head.

"What are you-" Arthur was cut off when a massive clump of snow covered his head. Alfred started laughing like a little kid and quickly got off Arthur, running away. "Dammit, Alfred," Arthur muttered to himself and quickly swiped the snow off his face.

"I dare you to hit me right in the face," Alfred taunted from back in the clearing.

"Didn't you tell me not too long ago that you didn't want to get me mad?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"What, are you gonna use magic?" Alfred teased.

"Perhaps," Arthur grinned and finally stood up, but holding a ball of snow in his hands. He quickly threw the ball at Alfred and nailed him in the neck.

* * *

"I told ya this keeps us from getting cold," Alfred laughed, watching his breath puff up above his face. They were lying down in the snow in the middle of their clearing, trying to catch their breath after their snowball fight.

"Right," Arthur chuckled. He had to admit, he could hardly feel the cold of the snow on his back.

"Admit you had fun," Alfred poked his cheek.

"Yes, Alfred, I had fun," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You're a lot better at it than I thought you would be," Alfred laughed. They continued to look up at the gray sky, and watched at how it became darker, but they had no idea where the sun was up in the sky.

"So, when do your fireflies come out?" Arthur asked.

"Whenever they want to," Alfred smiled. "I know they probably aren't fireflies, right? I remember when you were out cold and all of those fairies were around you. They looked just like fireflies."

"You should know that fireflies don't exist," Arthur smiled.

"I knew it," Alfred laughed and turned towards Arthur. "So, they're fairies or something?"

"Yes," Arthur sighed and sat up. "I do kind of wish I could see how beautiful they are when they're fireflies."

"I think they look prettier when they're fairies," Alfred smiled, sitting up next to him. "When I saw Ella, she was very beautiful."

"It's a little weird, not having her around," Arthur sighed.

"Well now you're getting depressing," Gilbert's voice groaned and Arthur looked in front of him, where Gilbert was standing, looking a little aggravated.

"Hey, Gil," Alfred said, staring right at him.

"Oh, so now you're letting everyone see you, is that it?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"There's a lot more magic in this world right about now," Gilbert stretched his arms over his head. "Might have something to do with a certain Queen of Spades."

"So, he's made more people believe in magic?" Alfred tilted his head.

"Yup," Gilbert knelt down in front of them. "Plenty of magic around for me to show myself. You know, I came here to gripe about you two being all obnoxious, but then you started being serious and I had to make you shut up."

"About Ella?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," Gilbert stood up.

"She said she had seen into the Joker's world," Arthur stated. "She knew when she was supposed to die."

"You have no idea how old she was," Gilbert stated. "Once they get to a certain age, they'll all learn when they die. She just didn't know how she would die, she just knew. It's not specific. The Joker's world is weird. But I'm just here to tell you to brighten up and stop dwelling on it."

"You know, I'm kinda curious," Alfred grinned. "How good is a Joker at a snowball fight?"

"You wanna find out?" Gilbert challenged and Alfred quickly stood up scooping up some snow. Before he could even stand up, though, Gilbert nailed him with a snowball right in the face.

"Hey! I was caught off guard!" Alfred whined.

"You gonna complain?" Gilbert smirked. "Or are you gonna try to fight the awesome me?"

"Fine," Alfred laughed and they continued their snowball fight. Arthur just stayed sitting down, laughing at their immaturity. Alfred wasn't standing a chance and he even fell over onto the snow.

Arthur couldn't help but laugh even more seeing how Alfred was pathetically losing. Then, something caught his eye. He turned his head to the side and saw the familiar form of a fairy flying next to him. He was very familiar, it was one of the fairies from the maze. There were a few around him, too.

"Hello," Arthur nodded to them politely.

"We've seen your King around here a lot," the first fairy smiled. "It's nice to finally see you around here."

"Well, it is rather beautiful," Arthur smiled, looking up at the sky. He could hear Alfred and Gilbert talking behind him.

"Who's he talking to?" Alfred whispered.

"Don't worry about it," Gilbert laughed and Arthur heard a snowball hit something behind him.

"So we hear it's mostly you we have to thank for the sudden belief in magic?" the fairy asked.

"I guess you can consider that," Arthur chuckled. "I noticed a lot of young lads accepting their magic just because I was marked insane for believing in it."

"You're brave for all you've done and been through," the fairy smiled. "You've been through too much for one person."

"I've had a little help," Arthur grinned and looked back at Alfred, who was backed up against a tree and being pelted with snowballs. "He's more help than he looks," he laughed.

"I heard he made Spades the first ally of Clubs," the fairy said happily, flying up next to Arthur's face. "That was truly brave, considering their abilities."

"Yes, it was," Arthur smiled. "I think we've both been through a little too much."

"Hey, Arthur!" Alfred called out to him, trying to use his arms to protect himself from snowballs. "If you're done talking to fairies, I could use some help here!"

"We just wanted to say thank you, on behalf of all the fairies," the fairy nodded towards him. "And I'm sure Ella's pleased with what you've done, too."

"God," Arthur laughed and stood up, brushing himself off. "I just know she would kick my arse for worrying about her."

"Goodbye," the fairy called to him and they slowly flew off.

Arthur gave them a wave and then turned towards Alfred. He quickly ran up to him and dragged him behind a tree.

"Are you really having that many problems, love?" Arthur grinned. "He is just one thing, after all."

"Don't patronize me," Alfred pointed a finger at him. "I'm doing my best."

"Not good enough," Arthur laughed.

"You gonna help me with some magic?" Alfred asked.

"I guess," Arthur sighed and gave Alfred a small, quick, yet sweet kiss.

Before they could even separate, a snowball hit them both in the face.

"You're being obnoxious again," Gilbert grinned, holding another snowball.

"_Nix_," Arthur wove his hand over the snow on the ground and a lot of it flew right at Gilbert, knocking him onto the ground.

"Sweet!" Alfred cheered. "Now we have a fighting chance!"

"You sure?" Gilbert's voice sounded behind them and they ran away slightly, Alfred scooping up snow as he went.

They continued their fight, nearly oblivious to the world around them and not caring. It was like a well-earned break for Alfred and Arthur. A way for them to bond over trying to survive a fight against a Joker. There was even a point when Alfred carried Arthur away, pretending he was badly wounded. They were just having fun, which was well needed. They couldn't even tell it was cold outside. It was a wonderful break and they needed it.

After all, they had all done Too Much.

* * *

**Cheesy ending is cheesy...I couldn't think of any other way to end it. But, whatever, it's done! And now that this isn't consuming my life...I'M SO BORED! I'm saving my writing for NaNoWriMo, and so I'm just sitting around, trying to figure out what to do with my life... It's not working out well...**

**But, hey, I shouldn't bother you with that. It's finally done! Please tell me how you think I did, whether it's good or bad, I don't care! And, even though I'm done writing this, you should still look out for one-shots during holidays!**

**Um...and I don't own Hetalia.**

**Goodbye!**


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